A new Witcher novel is due out later this year, from original author Andrzej Sapkowski, which will follow a teen Geralt.
The prequel will be called Crossroads of Ravens in English (Rozdroże Kruków in Polish) and focus on an 18-year-old Geralt setting out from Kaer Morhen on his first mission where he’ll “discover monsters, traitors, some new friends and some familiar faces, and just how deeply feared and despised Witchers can be”.
Yes, Sapkowski stated he’d finished the Witcher saga back in 1999, but he returned in 2013 with Season of Storms, and now will return once again.
“In Rozdroże Kruków I return to the roots of Geralt’s journey – not the fearless monster slayer we know, but a young Witcher just beginning to understand the burden of his destiny,” said Sapkowski.
“Imagine Geralt, but younger, with fewer scars and a bit more haughtiness. This is a story of growth, of idealism meeting harsh reality, and of choices that forge a legend. It’s about finding your place in a world that’s constantly challenging you to be more than you thought you could be. As this new story finds its way to readers across the globe this year, I can’t wait for them to walk alongside a younger Geralt – experiencing the trials that forged him and the journey that set him on the road to his destiny.”
The novel will be released on 30th September in an English translation by David French, responsible for translating 6 of the last 8 Witcher books. For non-English speakers, it will be translated into more than 19 other languages.
The novel will differ from CD Projekt Red’s recently revealed The Witcher 4. Instead of going backwards, the next game will follow the previous games as sequels to the books and has Ciri as its protagonist instead of Geralt.
Don’t worry gruff hero fans, Geralt will still make an appearance in The Witcher 4. But will he be playable? The developers remain coy.
Witcher 4 will compete with The Blood of Dawnwalker, a new game from The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz’s new studio Rebel Wolves. The game received its first trailer at the start of the year.
The studio is supported by NetEase and recently confirmed it hasn’t been affected by the Chinese conglomerate pulling funding.
It also won’t be the first time we see a young Geralt, as he features in Netflix anime Nightmare of the Wolf.
