‘The Witcher 4’ Is Bringing Back a Fan-Favorite Policy That Made the RPG Stand Out Compared to Others

The RPG genre has grown a lot since the early days of games like Akalabeth on the Apple II. Storytelling and quest design have gotten much better over time. Still, many RPGs today rely on fetch quests, which are often seen as boring filler.

These quests simply ask players to go get something, adding playtime without the effort needed to create an interesting story or deep characters.

Back in 2015, The Witcher 3 changed things by avoiding fetch quests. The game’s creators wanted every quest to feel special and memorable. Even when Geralt was sent to retrieve an item, there was usually a surprising twist or a tough choice involved. This approach made The Witcher 3 stand out and earned it praise for its quest design.

CD Projekt Red hasn’t forgotten this lesson. In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Philipp Weber, the narrative director for The Witcher 4, shared how the team plans to carry over the best parts of The Witcher 3’s storytelling into the new game.

He said, “We also know the things that The Witcher 3 was good at. We can’t break that. The stuff we want from a Witcher game, that people want from a Witcher game, we can’t break that. We have to do that.”

Weber explained that many of the quest design rules from The Witcher 3 are still in place for The Witcher 4. He said, “A lot of the rules on how to do quests that we wrote down, for, as an example, new team members on The Witcher 4. Those are the rules from The Witcher 3.” This means the “no fetch quest” policy that made The Witcher 3 special will return in the new game.

Although there is no official release date for The Witcher 4 yet, CD Projekt Red recently showed off a tech demo running on Unreal Engine 5. It’s likely the game won’t come out before 2027, but fans can look forward to a strong focus on storytelling and quest quality.

Weber also shared what makes a good quest in his opinion. “A quest has to be something interesting,” he said. “I have to feel, as a player, that if I played that quest, my time was well spent and not just spent. I was busy doing stuff, and didn’t think about work or taxes. I experienced a story, or something else that was worth it. That basic rule is still there 100%.”

When asked if lessons from The Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077 would influence The Witcher 4, Weber laughed and said, “All of them.” He highlighted the importance of balancing storytelling rules with trusting instincts. “We’re never a slave to these kinds of things,” he explained. Sometimes, following strict story rules makes everything feel the same. So, the team allows themselves to trust their gut when deciding what scenes to include, even if those scenes don’t follow traditional narrative rules.

“Is this a scene that doesn’t have a big narrative [reason] to be there, but I want to see it as a developer and that’s why I assume a player also wants to see it? Does it feel good? Does it feel powerful? This is something I really carry with me, to really keep that middle part,” Weber said.

In short, The Witcher 4 will bring back the fan-loved quest design philosophy that helped The Witcher 3 become a standout RPG. Fans can expect exciting, meaningful quests that don’t waste their time with boring fetch tasks. The team is focused on crafting a game that respects what players loved before, while also adding fresh ideas and creativity.

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