Quick, the world is in danger, your adopted daughter is threatened and nearby villagers are terrorized by monsters. What are you doing? Oh, you’re sitting at a nice table in the local tavern. You play a card game with a guy named “Aldert”. The wind outside is howling, and so are the night spirits, but you just sit there. Play another “cow” card. Okay.
I think you’ll be happy to hear that the Witcher 4 developers have more or less confirmed that Gwent will return in the recently-trailed Ciri sequel.
As noted by PC gamertwo developers at CD Projekt Red responded with some confidence to a recent interview question about the in-universe card game, saying, “I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.”
“We really love the game,” says executive producer Gosia Mitręga interview with Easy Allies. “And we also listen very carefully to the community, which we love… But I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.”
“Yes, definitely,” added game director Sebastian Kalemba. “It’s definitely part of the experience. We love Gwent too.”
It was perhaps a no-brainer that the card game was revived for the sequel, as it was popular enough to spawn a free-to-play multiplayer spin-off and a standalone single-player adventure, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. Both, as card games, were pretty solid.
Gwent, as it originally appeared in Witcher 3, was inspired by a physical card game Condottierewith a few differences in both appearance and rules to make it fit into the world of cat-eyed freelancers and sneaky swamp witches. The multiplayer version has changed over the years from its original design, to the extent that every time I boot it up I’m left at a loss as to how to best use my maps. I’m curious to see exactly what form it will take in Witcher 4, and whether my winter tactic of covering the board in frost will be viable again.