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Exploration and Open World - Version 13 vs Version 14
May 17, 2026, 07:23 AM
Embedded landscape and town shots from the tech demo to illustrate exploration zones.
May 24, 2026, 05:05 PM
Corrected wikilink existence flags
11Map Size and Setting22The open world is set in Kovir and Poviss, a northern kingdom in the Witcher universe. CDPR has stated the map is "more or less the same size" as the prior installment's world; in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, that world measured roughly 142 square kilometers. CDPR clarified it could be "90, 85, or 100 percent" of that size. Not identical, but in the same ballpark.44The world is bounded by natural borders:77The Dragon Mountains to the northThe sea (North Sea / Gulf of Praxeda) along the southern coastThe kingdom of Redania to the southwestCreyden to the west99Confirmed Locations1111LocationDescriptionValdresta bustling port town shown in the State of Unreal 2025 tech demo. The demo followed Ciri riding through the countryside into Valdrest. This shows dense NPC populations and detailed architecture.Stromforda small, isolated village featured in the Game Awards 2024 trailer. This is where the Bauk encounter takes place.Lan Exeterthe winter capital of Kovir, a Venice-inspired port cityPont Vanisthe summer capital of Kovir, an inland city1414NPC Behavior1515The world reacts to Ciri's actions in granular ways. Bump into a townsfolk and they react. Knock over a crate of apples and a chain reaction can unfold. These are not scripted events; they are physics-driven interactions with systemic NPC responses.1717The State of Unreal 2025 tech demo showed up to 300 individually unique NPCs in a single scene. Each had distinct appearance, clothing, and behavior. Sebastian Kalemba stated: "We have this rule to make every single NPC looking like they're living, with their own story."1919Kelpie2121Ciri's horse is Kelpie, a black mare from Sapkowski's novels. This is Kelpie's first appearance in any Witcher game (Geralt rode Roach in previous entries). The name comes from a Scottish water spirit, which Sapkowski used as an in-world name.2323Technical details from the tech demo:2525Seamless mounting from any angle (no fixed mount point)Realistic muscle simulation via ML Deformer (muscles flex and shift under the skin during movement)Full integration with the Unreal Animation Framework for smooth transitions between gaits2727Roach, Geralt's horse in The Witcher 3, became an unintentional comedy icon because of her tendency to spawn on rooftops and get stuck on geometry. CDPR appears to be investing heavily in making Kelpie more polished.2929Density Over Raw Size3131The decision to keep the map at roughly the same size as the previous Witcher game's world rather than making it larger is telling. Open-world games have trended toward ever-bigger maps, but the common criticism is that bigger maps often mean more empty space. CDPR seems to be prioritizing density: more NPCs per location, more reactive systems, more things to do per square kilometer.3333This philosophy mirrors Philipp Weber's quest design approach: no filler, no fetch quests, every piece of content worth the player's time.3535New Movement Abilities3737The Witcher IV introduces two movement features absent from previous Witcher games: a dedicated jump button and underwater swimming.3939The jump button allows Ciri to leap freely during exploration. In the previous Witcher games, free jumping was not available; Geralt could only vault over specific obstacles. The dedicated jump was confirmed in the March 2026 AnsweRED Podcast.4141Underwater swimming has also been confirmed. In the previous Witcher game, Geralt could swim on the surface and dive only via a crossbow-triggered mechanic. The Witcher IV will offer a fuller underwater exploration experience, with Ciri able to dive freely and stay submerged. Details on underwater combat or maximum dive duration have not been revealed.4343NPC Variety and Crowd Technology4545CDPR has implemented a Mass AI crowd scaling system for populated areas like Valdrest and Lan Exeter. The State of Unreal 2025 tech demo showcased crowds in Valdrest's market district with individual NPCs performing contextual animations. The March 2026 AnsweRED Podcast confirmed that CDPR is investing heavily in NPC variety to ensure towns feel distinct and populated. MetaHuman technology is used to bring NPC visual quality closer to protagonist-level fidelity.4747The same March 2026 AnsweRED Podcast episode confirmed that Ciri can cast Witcher Signs and Source magic while walking or running, whereas in the previous Witcher games the protagonist had to stop moving to cast. The development team has also added more than 80 distinct base-movement animations for Ciri to make traversal feel less stiff.
