CD Projekt Red unveiled a story trailer for the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 at E3, and since then, fans have been clamoring for more information about the game. While the game comes from the studio behind The Witcher series, Cyberpunk is set to be a very different experience. There remains, however, a bizarre possibility of a crossover between the two games.
The worlds of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 are clearly extremely different. Although there are likely to be plenty of similarities when it comes to quest design, writing style, and so forth, the actual gameplay will probably feel much more distinct. For one, Cyberpunk 2077 will be a first-person shooter RPG, giving it a notably different perspective to The Witcher, which was always locked to a third-person point of view. However, despite the wholly divergent settings, there is a slim possibility that one character could feature in both franchises. Namely, Ciri.
Could Ciri Feature in Cyberpunk 2077?
Ciri was a major part of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Indeed, the namesake Wild Hunt pursued her throughout much of the game, with the young woman utilising her magical abilities to stay one step ahead of them. Those abilities were exhibited most dramatically in the quest “Through Time and Space“. That quest featured Avallac’h and Geralt visiting a series of other realities via magical transportation. That quest clearly established the existence of other realities beyond The Witcher’s own world. Indeed, Ciri mentions visiting several of these worlds during the course of the game.
In fact, on one specific occasion, she mentions spending “half a year” in another world. A world which sounds suspiciously like that of Cyberpunk 2077…
It seems unlikely that Ciri would play a major role in Cyberpunk 2077. Indeed, the possibility of her appearing at all is probably rather slim. One important factor may simply be a matter of copyright. Ciri was originally created by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, whose novels are what CD Projekt Red’s Witcher games are based on. CD Projekt Red likely has permission to use Ciri in their Witcher games. However, using her in a non-Witcher title might breach their copyright agreement with Sapkowski. However, that’s not to say that she couldn’t make an implied appearance via an Easter egg or appear under a false name. Given that she was hiding from the Wild Hunt, she could well have disguised herself. Whatever the case; Witcher fans will no doubt be keen to scour Cyberpunk 2077 for any mention of the reality-travelling character once the game releases.