Where Is The Witcher 4 Set? Kovir, Valdrest and Stromford

Kovir is the first officially confirmed location of The Witcher 4. In the press release for the June 3, 2025, tech demo, CD PROJEKT RED writes that the demo takes place in the region of Kovir, “which will make its very first appearance in the video game series in The Witcher 4.” So Kovir is not just a backdrop for a tech showcase but part of the game. Jan Hermanowicz, Engineering and Production Manager, later reiterated that Kovir is in the game – but that the demo version is not the final one.

On the PlayStation Blog, Sebastian Kalemba describes Kovir as “a rugged land where cities are built on trade and keep a careful distance from the military conflicts that plague the rest of the north.” In the demo, Ciri rides Kelpie through rugged mountains, valleys and dense forests all the way to Valdrest.

How much of this ends up in the finished game is open. CD PROJEKT RED says the tech demo was “not The Witcher 4 itself” but an early look at the technology. How big Kovir will be and which other places it holds, the studio has not said.

The destination of Ciri’s ride in the tech demo is Valdrest – in CD PROJEKT RED’s words, “the bustling port town of Valdrest” in Kovir. At its centre is a market full of people. According to GamesRadar+’s liveblog, about 300 animated characters were on screen at once without breaking the 60 fps target.

On the PlayStation Blog, Kalemba describes a scene that shows what the team is after: Ciri bumps into a man carrying a crate of apples, he loses his footing, the apples roll down the hill – and trigger unscripted chain reactions, such as children running to steal one or pigs looking for an early lunch. For the band on stage in Valdrest, the team uses the new Unreal Animation Framework to put far more characters on screen.

Whether Valdrest looks the same in the game is open; the demo was not gameplay. The technology behind it is explained under technology.

In Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, Lan Exeter is the capital of Kovir. According to GamesRadar+’s liveblog, the city was briefly visible in the tech demo. CD PROJEKT RED does not name Lan Exeter in its press release, though, and it has not been announced that you can visit the city in the game. We therefore list it as glimpsed only, not as a confirmed location.

Stromford is the village where the Cinematic Reveal Trailer takes place. CD PROJEKT RED officially named it on December 16, 2024, in the soundtrack announcement: the music accompanies Ciri “during her quest in the village of Stromford.” In the trailer breakdown, Sebastian Kalemba describes Stromford as a totally isolated place up north; according to TechRadar, Małgorzata Mitręga speaks of the far North.

For generations its people have sacrificed a girl to appease the Bauk. The trailer shows snowy paths, wooden houses and torches at dusk. Whether Stromford lies in Kovir or in another region, CD PROJEKT RED has not said. The village’s story is covered under story.

According to Sebastian Kalemba, the map will be “more or less the same” size as Witcher 3’s, and so will the number of quests; the game will be big, but it is about quality over quantity. On top of that come new regions. He said this in a video interview in December 2024; reports differ on which one (TechRadar says Easy Allies, MP1st says Skill Up). CD PROJEKT RED has not published a map or any square-kilometre figures.

For comparison: Witcher 3 offered several large regions, with Velen, Novigrad, Skellige, Kaer Morhen and later Toussaint. In August 2026, Michał Nowakowski spoke of a “huge and immersive open world.” How many regions The Witcher 4 has, and which, has not been announced. The full comparison is under Witcher 4 vs. Witcher 3.

For context, from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels rather than from CD PROJEKT RED: Kovir lies in the far north of the Continent and forms a joint kingdom with Poviss, often called “Kovir and Poviss.” It is considered one of the richest countries in the world, mainly thanks to its mines and its trade. Its capital is Lan Exeter.

Politically, Kovir is known for its neutrality: it largely stays out of the wars between the Northern Kingdoms and Nilfgaard. Kalemba echoes exactly this when he talks about cities built on trade that keep their distance from the wars of the north. Kovir was never visitable in the earlier games – CD PROJEKT RED says The Witcher 4 is its first appearance in the series.