The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been one of the most critically acclaimed games of recent years, but developer CD Projekt Red does have at least one lingering regret.
Despite the critical and commercial success The Witcher 3 enjoyed, the game’s principal writer Jakub Szamalek says the studio regretted not including more about Ciri’s rose tattoo. In the books, the tattoo is a reference to Ciri’s lover, Mistle. The whole story is quite complex, and CD Projekt Red says it just didn’t have time to tell the entire tale in The Witcher 3.
“There wasn’t really space for unpacking this complex episode in the Wild Hunt, and it’s a shame,” Szamalek tells PC Gamer (issue 338). “In this moment of life, Ciri gave in to her darker side, followed her worst instincts. Showing this transition, and the remorse which followed, would have made a great story.”
Instead, The Witcher 3 includes just a small nod to the tattoo – Ciri mentions the drawing is a memory of someone who died, but that is all.
“Maybe it’s something we’ll get to revisit in the future,” Szamalek concludes.
The Witcher 3 launched in 2015, with its developer is now working on the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. A Witcher TV show is due to launch next month, so perhaps we’ll hear more about Ciri’s rose in that series – at any rate, it seems The Witcher 4 isn’t coming any time soon.