Summary
Even withCyberpunk 2077and its expansion out of the way, CD Projekt Red has a lot on its plate.The Witcheris still going strong, with work on its live-action Netflix adaptation continuing and multiple games in development by different teams.Project Canis Majoriswill be an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the firstWitchergame, which is being outsourced to the Polish development studio Fool’s Theory. It’s not expected for a while, though it’s a toss-up whether it or the next mainWitcherinstallment, tentatively codenamedPolaris, will be ready first. All of that isn’t even getting into whatever else CD Projekt Red has planned for theCyberpunkfranchise.
The last notableWitcherconfirmed for now is the mysteriousProject Sirius. It’s intended to be a standalone spin-off of theWitcherIP, and is being covered by the CD Projekt Red subsidiary Molasses Flood. Little is known about this title besides its intent to add multiplayer co-op to an otherwise single-playerWitchergame. The current status ofProject Siriusis also unclear after an early 2023 announcement that its development was changing direction. Still, CDPR intends to launch a multiplayerWitchergame eventually, and when it does, it should consider doing more than just letting players help each other out; it could borrow from the style of 2015’s lost multiplayer gameEvolve.
Certain Parts of The Witcher Lend Themselves To Multiplayer
Most fans rememberThe Witchermore for its compelling characters and twisted fairytale world than for its gameplay. Despite that,The Witcher 3managed to build an impressive monster hunting system, to the point where Geralt of Rivia even appeared in one ofMonster Hunter World’s most involved collaborationsto help track a displaced Leshen. The necessity to research larger targets and prepare before confronting them made up for the otherwise simple combat mechanics, and helped players immerse themselves more inThe Witcher’s world.
Monster Hunting Should Be At The Core Of Project Sirius
When discussing a multiplayerWitchertitle, an obvious selling point would be multiple players going on these sorts of hunts together. If there’s still a single-player component involved, then the result could play out somewhat like a combination ofThe Witcher 3andMonster Hunter, with a few players loading into lobbies before setting out to gather supplies and track the target. However, that’s not the only game type possible when it comes to pitting multiple Witchers against a monster, and amust-have feature for the multiplayerWitchergamecould draw a lot of attention through asymmetrical PvP in the vein ofEvolve.
Evolve Provides An Ideal Template For A PvP Witcher More To Copy
Although its servers went offline in 2023, Turtle Rock Studios' 2015 multiplayer shooterEvolvewas a major talking point in its day. The game’s main premise involved a team of playable hunters tracking down a giant monster that was also player controlled, inverting the type of asymmetrical gameplay one would expect from modern titles likeDead by DaylightorDragon Ball: The Breakers.Evolve’s different monster classes had to creep around the map and complete objectives while fending off hunters, growing through multiple stages of power before becoming nearly unstoppable and destroying the hunter team.
The Witchercould adaptEvolve’s gameplay in natural ways. Hunters assume various classes based on heroes from the series, like Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer, while the monster player controlsone ofThe Witcher’s iconic beasts, like a Wyvern or a Leshen. As the team uses their different skills to track and slay the beast, the lone monster player must gain strength through tasks like eating NPCs or players, destroying certain structures, or spending enough time resting in certain places. Players should gain an appreciation for the detailed abilities and goals ofThe Witcher’s fantasy monsters from their perspective, as well as how Witchers can counter them. This PvP mode could be just whatProject Siriusneeds to stand out among the wave of upcomingWitchertitles.
