The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a 2015 action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt. It is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and the third game in The Witcher video game series, played in an open world with a third-person perspective. The games follow the Witcher series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
The game takes place in a fictional fantasy world based on Slavic folklore. Players control Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer for hire known as a Witcher, and search for his adopted daughter, Ciri, who is on the run from the Wild Hunt. Players battle the game's many dangers with weapons and magic, interact with non-player characters, and complete quests to acquire experience points and gold, which are used to increase Geralt's abilities and purchase equipment. The game's story has three possible endings, determined by the player's choices at key points in the narrative. Development began in 2011 and lasted for three and a half years. Central and Northern European cultures formed the basis of the game's world. The game was developed using the REDengine 3. The music was primarily composed by Marcin Przybyłowicz and performed by the Brandenburg State Orchestra.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2015, with a Nintendo Switch version released in October 2019, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions (subtitled "Complete Edition") released in December 2022. The game received critical acclaim, with praise for its gameplay, narrative, world design, combat, and visuals, although it received minor criticism due to technical issues. It holds more than 200 game of the year awards and has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. The game has sold over 65 million units as of May 2026, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time. Two expansions were also released to critical acclaim: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. A "Game of the Year Edition" was released in August 2016, with the base game, expansions, and all downloadable content included. A remastered version, which is free of charge for all existing owners, was released in September 2026, for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. A third expansion, Songs of the Past, is scheduled for a 2027 release, and a sequel, The Witcher IV, is in development.
Gameplay The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an action role-playing game with a third-person perspective. Players control Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer known as a Witcher. Geralt walks, runs, rolls and dodges, and (for the first time in the series) jumps, climbs and swims. He has a variety of weapons, including bombs, a crossbow and two swords (one steel and one silver). The steel sword is used primarily to kill humans while the silver sword is more effective against creatures and monsters. Players can draw out, switch and sheathe their swords at will. There are two modes of melee attack; light attacks are fast but weak, and heavy attacks are slow but strong. Players can block and counter enemy attacks with their swords. Swords have limited endurance and require regular repair. In addition to physical attacks, Geralt has five magical signs at his disposal: Aard, Axii, Igni, Yrden and Quen. Aard prompts Geralt to unleash a telekinetic blast, Axii confuses enemies, Igni burns them, Yrden slows them down and Quen offers players a temporary, protective shield. The signs use stamina, and cannot be used indefinitely. Players can use mutagens to increase Geralt's magic power. Geralt loses health when attacked by enemies, although wearing armour can help reduce health loss. Health is restored with meditation or consumables, such as food and potions. Players occasionally control Ciri, Geralt's adoptive daughter who can teleport short distances.
The game uses dynamic environments, for instance, the day-night cycle influences some monsters; a werewolf becomes powerful during the night of a full moon. Players can learn about their enemies and prepare for combat by reading the in-game bestiary. When they kill an enemy, they can loot its corpse for valuables. Geralt's witcher sense enables players to find objects of interest, including items that can be collected or scavenged. Items are stored in the inventory, which can be expanded by purchasing upgrades. Players can sell items to vendors or use them to craft potions and bombs. They can visit blacksmiths to craft new weapons and armorers with what they have gathered. The price of an item and the cost of crafting it depend on a region's local economy. Players earn experience points by completing quests. When a player earns enough experience, Geralt's level increases and the player receives ability points. These points may be used on four skill trees: combat, signs, alchemy and general. Combat upgrades enhance Geralt's attacks and unlock new fighting techniques; signs upgrades enable him to use magic more efficiently, and alchemy upgrades improve crafting abilities. General upgrades have a variety of functions, from raising Geralt's vitality to increasing crossbow damage.
The game focuses on narrative and has a dialogue tree which allows players to choose how to respond to non-player characters. Geralt must make decisions which change the state of the world and lead to 36 possible endings, affecting the lives of in-game characters. He can have a romantic relationship with some of the game's female characters by completing certain quests. In addition to the main quests, books offer more information on the game's world. Players can begin side quests after visiting a town's noticeboard. These side missions include Witcher Contracts (elaborate missions requiring players to hunt monsters) and Treasure Hunt quests, which reward players with top-tier weapons or armour. The game's open world is divided into several regions. Geralt can explore each region on foot or by transportation, such as a boat. Roach, his horse, may be summoned at will. Players can kill enemies with their sword while riding Roach, but an enemy presence may frighten the horse and unseat Geralt. Points of interest may be found on the map, and players receive experience points after completing mini-missions in these regions. Players can discover Places of Power for additional ability points. Other activities include horse racing, boxing and card playing; the card-playing mechanic was later expanded into a standalone game, Gwent: The Witcher Card Game.
Synopsis
Setting The game is set in the Continent, a fictional fantasy world based on Slavic folklore. It is surrounded by parallel dimensions and extra-dimensional worlds. Humans, elves, dwarves, monsters, and other creatures co-exist on the Continent, but non-humans are often persecuted for their differences in the northern realms. The Continent is caught up in a war between the empire of Nilfgaard – led by Emperor Emhyr var Emreis (Charles Dance), who invaded the Northern Kingdoms – and Redania, ruled by King Radovid V. Several locations appear, including the free city of Novigrad, the Redanian city of Oxenfurt, the no man's land of Velen, the city of Vizima (former capital of the recently conquered Temeria), the Skellige islands (home to several clans who resemble Norse-Gaels), and the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen.
Characters
The main character is the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (Doug Cockle), a monster hunter trained since childhood in combat, tracking, alchemy and magic, and made stronger, faster and resistant to toxins by mutagens. He is aided by his lover, the powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Denise Gough), his former love interest Triss Merigold (Jaimi Barbakoff), the bard Dandelion (John Schwab), the dwarf warrior Zoltan Chivay (Alexander Morton), and Geralt's witcher mentor Vesemir (William Roberts). Geralt is spurred into action by the reappearance of his and Yennefer's adopted daughter, Ciri (Jo Wyatt). Ciri is a Source, born with innate (and potentially vast) magical abilities; after the apparent death of her parents, she was trained as a witcher while Yennefer taught her magic. Ciri disappeared years before to escape the Wild Hunt, a group of spectral warriors led by the King of the Wild Hunt: the elf Eredin (Steven Hartley), from a parallel dimension.
Plot
Geralt and his mentor Vesemir arrive at the town of White Orchard in search of the former's long-lost lover, Yennefer. After slaying a griffin terrorizing the area, Yennefer approaches Geralt and takes him to meet Nilfgaardian Emperor Emhyr, who orders him to join their search for his daughter Ciri—Geralt's adopted daughter—the last heir to an ancient elven bloodline that allows her to manipulate space-time, for which the enigmatic Wild Hunt pursues her. Geralt learns of three places Ciri was seen: the war-ravaged province of Velen, the free city-state of Novigrad, and the Skellige Isles.
In Velen, Geralt discovers that Ciri battled witches before finding refuge with the Bloody Baron, a warlord ruling the province. Investigating the witches, Geralt stumbles upon the sorceress Keira Metz, who is in hiding following the events of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and learns from her that the witches Ciri fought are the Crones, three malicious sisters who watch over Velen, and that Ciri has a mysterious elf companion. Approaching the baron, in exchange for finding his missing family, the warlord reveals that he sent Ciri to Novigrad.
Arriving at Novigrad, Geralt reunites with several old acquaintances, including his ex-lover Triss, and uncovers that Ciri sought out his friend Dandelion, but they ran afoul of Novigrad's crime bosses while seeking to cure a curse. Working together, Geralt and his friends rescue Dandelion, who explains that Ciri teleported away to escape pursuit.
Sailing to Skellige, Geralt reunites with Yennefer, whose investigation reveals that Ciri first came to the isles with her companion but got separated when the Wild Hunt attacked, which is how she ended up in Velen. They also discover that, following her escape in Novigrad, Ciri teleported to the Skelligen village of Lofoten, where she and her companion reunited. However, the Wild Hunt attacked again, forcing them to flee by boat. When the boat returned to shore, its only occupant was Uma, a deformed creature that Geralt saw with the Bloody Baron.
Deducing Uma is the curse victim Ciri sought to cure, Geralt takes him to the witcher school at Kaer Morhen. Working with Yennefer and his fellow witchers, Geralt breaks the curse and restores Uma's true self: Ciri's companion, Avallac'h, who explains that he placed her in an enchanted sleep on a magical island to safeguard her from the Wild Hunt. Traveling there, Geralt reunites with Ciri and learns from her that Hunt's leader, Eredin, wants her powers to save his homeworld from a magical force known as the White Frost, which moves between the worlds and turns them into frozen wastelands. Returning to Kaer Morhen, they are pursued by the Hunt and face them upon arrival, but are outmatched, resulting in Vesemir being killed and causing Ciri to unleash her uncontrolled power, prompting the Hunt to retreat.
Taking the fight to the Wild Hunt, Geralt and Ciri ambush and kill Imlerith—Vesemir's killer—at a Witches' Sabbath hosted by the Crones; two Crones are also slain, but the third escapes. Meanwhile, Triss and Yennefer reform the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid their fight, and Avallac'h prepares a trap for the Hunt by luring them to Skellige. In the ensuing battle, Geralt personally faces and slays Eredin. However, before he dies, Eredin claims that Avallac'h plans to use Ciri's power for his own ends.