The Witcher 4 developers say Geralt isn't 'going anywhere'

Summary

The Witcher 4 was finally officially revealed last night, with a trailer confirming Ciri as the main protagonist.
Fans were curious to know what Geralt's status was and whether he could appear in the sequel.
Developers CD Projekt Red answered this question in an interview, suggesting that it's “not going anywhere.”

When asked whether Geralt of Rivia might appear in The Witcher 4, developers CD Projekt Red said he'll likely “be around for a long time.”

In a night full of surprises and revelations, undoubtedly one of the biggest was the release of the cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4, which finally confirmed its official name and that Ciri will be the main protagonist. This is despite the fact that the game only recently entered full development and we're unlikely to see it for quite some time.

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As exciting as it was to see Ciri step into her role as the Witcher after so much teasing in The Witcher 3, one of the biggest questions fans had, not surprisingly, concerned the status of Geralt, the series' other main protagonist. We have no idea if he'll appear in the game, but it seems like it's not as unlikely as you might assume.

Don't worry, Geralt of Rivia isn't “going anywhere”

Shortly after the reveal of The Witcher 4, IGN published an article in which they spoke with two developers from CD Projekt Red about the “lore you need to know” for the game. While this primarily serves as a way to introduce fans to the world of The Witcher and Ciri's role in it, the feature contains a very interesting answer to the possibility that Geralt could show up.

When asked about the possibility of Geralt's return, franchise and lore designer (and former member of TheGamer!) Cian Maher was a little cautious about his response, but made it clear that Geralt did not suffer a bad fate. Maher said that Geralt will “probably” be around for a long time, and that he actually makes a heavily implied appearance in the epilogue of Season of Storms, which takes place 101 years after The Witcher 3.

Geralt will probably be around for a long time. In Season of Storms there is an epilogue. It's set in the Magpie Forest in 1373, 101 years after The Witcher 3. And in that epilogue there's a certain white-haired Witcher who hunts a monster who remains nameless, but who behaves in a certain way . And of course he has white hair. I think we can expect Geralt to be around for a long time. – Cian Maher

Maher concluded his statement about Geralt by specifically noting that “we can expect Geralt to be around for a long time” and that “he's not going anywhere.” It's not a concrete statement about the character's return, but it suggests that he is active during the events of The Witcher 4 and that's not an impossibility.

Of course, this is also made clearer thanks to recent comments made by Geralt's voice actor, Doug Cockle, who initially suggested he would appear in The Witcher 4 before CD Projekt Red told him it hadn't been confirmed. Putting two and two together it's pretty clear that we'll likely see Geralt in some capacity in the next game.