New Witcher Novel Explains Why The Trials Stopped, Which Might Influence The Witcher 4

Andrzej Sapkowski and CD Projekt Red are both returning to The Witcher after ten years, Sapkowski with a prequel novel, and CDPR with a new game. Coincidentally, both are even tackling the same topic—the trials.

The Witcher 4 will follow Ciri, who has undertaken the mutations, while Crossroads of Ravens, set during Geralt's early years, finally answers why the School of the Wolf stopped recruiting new members.

Given this crossover of ideas, fans have been asking narrative director Philipp Weber on X to find out if the new novel has influenced The Witcher 4.

"I can't reveal how exactly we'll do it, but Season of Storms also came out while we developed The Witcher 3, so we still tried to include some of the new elements," Weber explained. "You can expect something similar!"

Weber might not have read Sapkowski's new book yet, but he revealed that, "due to the requirements of the job", he already knows the important points. So, many of its ideas will likely influence Ciri's journey.

Geralt's Age, Why The Trials Ended, The Mutations Going Awry: What Crossroads Of Ravens Tells Us

If you're wondering exactly what ideas from the novel might influence the game, there are a couple of key details likely to crop up.

As broken down by u/Former-Fix4842 on r/Witcher4, Crossroads of Ravens reveals that the herbs used for the mutations are worsening over time and reducing the already abysmal success rate, and that the trials were stopped as mages refused to put children through this barbaric process any longer.

It also confirms that Geralt is much younger than previously assumed.

With Ciri undergoing the mutations, and a Second Conjunction of the Spheres ushering in even more monsters to the world, the moral dilemma of the trials—and the growing necessity of witchers—will undoubtedly be at the forefront. And the novel has only given CDPR even more fuel to unravel this predicament.

The English translation of Crossroads of Ravens will release later this month, on September 30, if you need another excuse to tuck into the seminal Polish dark fantasy novels that started it all.

The Witcher 4