I've been following the developments of The Witcher 4 with bated breath, and the question that's been on everyone's mind has finally reached a boiling point in the gaming community. How will CD Projekt Red reconcile the dramatically different endings for Ciri from The Witcher 3? As someone who's poured hundreds of hours into the previous installment, I'm personally invested in how they'll handle this narrative challenge.

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From what I've gathered from recent press releases and developer interviews in early 2025, it appears CDPR is leaning toward canonizing the 'Ciri becomes a witcher' ending. I can't help but feel this is the most natural progression for a game that, at its core, is about monster hunting and the witcher lifestyle. Still, I find myself somewhat disappointed that my playthrough where Ciri became Empress might be rendered non-canonical.

A Cyberpunk-Inspired Solution?

However, an intriguing alternative has emerged from the community. A user named Micheo33 proposed implementing a system similar to Cyberpunk 2077's lifepaths, which would allow players to choose Ciri's background at the start of the game:

  • Empress: Ciri ascended to the Nilfgaardian throne

  • Witcher: Ciri followed in Geralt's footsteps

  • Moribund: The ending where Ciri appeared to die

I was struck by how elegant this solution could be. It respects player choices from the previous game while providing a framework for the new narrative. Having experienced Cyberpunk's lifepath system firsthand, I can envision how this might work for The Witcher 4.

The "Dead" Ending That Wasn't

What's particularly fascinating is the 'Moribund' path. For years, I believed Ciri had perished in that ending, but CDPR confirmed what eagle-eyed fans had suspected: she survived. The tiny swallow-shaped bird in the final tapestry wasn't just artistic flourish—it was Ciri herself, escaping her fate. (Zireael, her elven name, means 'Swallow' after all).

When I learned this detail, I felt a mixture of relief and awe at the narrative subtlety. It's exactly the kind of storytelling depth that made me fall in love with this franchise in the first place.

Reconciling Multiple Paths

The real challenge lies in explaining how Ciri could end up as a witcher regardless of her previous fate. For the 'Moribund' ending, I can imagine a scenario where, after fleeing from both Geralt and Nilfgaard, she encounters another witcher school that puts her through the trials and mutations.

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The Empress path requires more creativity. Perhaps, as mentioned in Blood and Wine, the political grooming simply didn't take. I can almost visualize a scene where Ciri, suffocating under the weight of imperial politics, discards her royal garments for witcher armor. Or maybe a coup forced her from the throne? The political landscape of the Continent is nothing if not volatile.

Will It Work?

Despite my enthusiasm for this approach, I'm not without reservations. Cyberpunk 2077's lifepaths were criticized for their brevity and limited impact on the overall narrative. Would CDPR make the same mistake twice? Or have they learned from past feedback?

The more I think about it, the more questions emerge. Would our choices from The Witcher 3 be imported somehow? Would the lifepath system be more consequential this time around? How would the narrative acknowledge the vastly different experiences Ciri would have had in each path?

Looking Forward

As 2025 progresses and we inch closer to more substantial reveals about The Witcher 4, I find myself increasingly torn. Part of me wants CDPR to honor the choices I made in The Witcher 3, while another part recognizes the practical limitations of game development.

Perhaps the real question isn't how CDPR will reconcile these endings, but rather: does it matter? Isn't the essence of The Witcher found in its morally complex characters and richly detailed world, rather than strict adherence to narrative continuity?

What if the beauty of The Witcher 4 lies not in how faithfully it follows our previous choices, but in how it surprises us with new ones? Could a game that forces us to confront the consequences of our past decisions be more meaningful than one that simply acknowledges them?

As I wait for more news from CDPR, these questions linger. And perhaps that's exactly what makes The Witcher universe so compelling—it never stops making us think, even when we're not playing. 🐺⚔️