What to Play Before The Witcher 4: Games, Books and the Show

CD PROJEKT RED has not said whether you can enjoy The Witcher 4 without prior knowledge. What we know: the game starts a new saga but is set after The Witcher 3, and its protagonist Ciri has a long backstory in Witcher 3 and the books. Narrative director Philipp Weber also says the switch to Ciri lets the team “honour” Geralt’s ending in Witcher 3 and Blood and Wine.

Our recommendation in one sentence: play The Witcher 3 with Blood and Wine, see which ending leads to Ciri becoming a witcher, and pick up the Songs of the Past expansion in 2027, which CDPR calls a prologue to The Witcher 4. The books, the older games and the Netflix show are extras for anyone who wants to go deeper.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) is the direct predecessor and the most important groundwork for The Witcher 4. In it, Geralt searches for Ciri, who is hunted by the Wild Hunt as a Child of the Elder Blood. You control Ciri yourself in several sections, and depending on how Geralt treats her, her story ends differently. In one of the endings Ciri becomes a witcher – which fits The Witcher 4, although CDPR has not officially declared any ending canon. What that means for you is explained under Witcher 3 ending.

Since September 29, 2026, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered has been available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, natively on Nintendo Switch 2 and on Battle.net. Anyone who owns Witcher 3 gets the new version, including Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, for free. For looking things up while you play, RaidDex has its own Witcher 3 database with a world map, planner and builds.

The two expansions continue Geralt’s story after the main campaign. Hearts of Stone (2015) is a self-contained adventure about a pact with the mysterious Gaunter O’Dimm; it has nothing to do with Ciri, but it is widely seen as one of the best stories in the series.

Blood and Wine (2016) matters more for The Witcher 4. The expansion takes Geralt to the sunny duchy of Toussaint and gives him an ending that feels like retirement. Philipp Weber referred to exactly this ending in December 2024 when explaining why Ciri is now the protagonist: the team wants to “honour the ending that Geralt had in The Witcher 3 and in Blood and Wine.” If you want to understand why Geralt is no longer at the center, Blood and Wine is worth playing.

In 2027, Songs of the Past arrives as a third, paid expansion for The Witcher 3. It is being made with the studio Fool’s Theory, requires the Remastered version and is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. It is set in the new region of Letten, and Geralt gets a new weapon: a chain – just like Ciri in The Witcher 4 reveal trailer.

CD PROJEKT RED explicitly links Songs of the Past to The Witcher 4. In May 2026, Michał Nowakowski called the expansion “a prologue – not in a verbatim way, but a prologue to the actual The Witcher 4.” The half-year report from September 2, 2026, says that eleven years after his last adventure, Geralt will hit the trail one more time before Ciri takes over as the main protagonist in The Witcher 4. How closely the stories connect is not known – “not in a verbatim way” suggests a thematic bridge rather than a direct prequel. That is our reading, not a statement from CDPR.

The Witcher (2007) and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) tell how Geralt returns without his memory after the events of the books and gets caught up in the politics of the Northern Kingdoms. Ciri plays no major part in them. As far as we know, you do not need either game for The Witcher 4; but if you want to experience the whole series, this is where Geralt’s road to Witcher 3 begins.

A remake of the first game is being made at Fool’s Theory on Unreal Engine 5. There is no date; according to Nowakowski it needs more time because of technology dependencies with The Witcher 4. If you would rather wait for the remake, you will not miss anything important for Ciri’s story.

If you really want to understand Ciri, Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga offers the most backstory. The two short story collections introduce her, and the five novels from Blood of Elves to The Lady of the Lake put her at the center: her training as a witcher at Kaer Morhen, her gift as a Source, her time alone on the run. Witcher 3 picks up much of this, such as her bond with Geralt, Yennefer and the witchers of Kaer Morhen.

As far as we know, the books are not required for The Witcher 4 – Witcher 3 tells Ciri’s story in a way you can follow without prior knowledge. The later books Season of Storms and Crossroads of Ravens are about Geralt and play no part in Ciri’s story. Sapkowski is working on a new novel but has nothing to do with The Witcher 4.

The Netflix series The Witcher is its own adaptation of the books and is not connected to the games. Ciri is played by Freya Allan. Since season 4, which premiered on October 30, 2025, Liam Hemsworth has played Geralt; season 5 is set to be the last, and Netflix has not confirmed a date. You do not need the show for The Witcher 4 – it is more of an introduction to the characters for anyone who would rather watch than read.