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In The Witcher IV

Kelpie is Ciri's horse companion in The Witcher IV, serving a similar role to Roach in The Witcher 3. She was first shown in the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo presented at the State of Unreal in June 2025, where Ciri rode her through the mountains and forests of Kovir en route to Valdrest.

Kelpie is a black mare with a striking dark coat. The tech demo used her as a showcase for Unreal Engine 5's animation capabilities. CDPR implemented multi-character Motion Matching for Kelpie, meaning her gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop) blend smoothly between states. The demo highlighted realistic muscle deformation under the skin during movement, drawing comparisons to the horse animation in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Book origins

Kelpie first appeared in Andrzej Sapkowski's novel The Tower of the Swallow, the sixth book in the Witcher saga. Ciri acquired her during her time with a group called the Rats. In the novels, Kelpie is described as an exceptionally fast and spirited horse with a black coat. The name "Kelpie" comes from the shape-shifting water spirit of Scottish and Irish folklore, though in the Witcher world it is simply the horse's name.

Kelpie appeared briefly in The Witcher 3 during one of Ciri's playable sequences, but she was not a persistent companion in that game. The Witcher IV is the first time she fills the full-time mount role.

Gameplay role

As the primary mount, Kelpie provides traversal across The Witcher IV's open world. Based on the tech demo, riding mechanics appear more polished than The Witcher 3's sometimes temperamental Roach. The demo showed fluid transitions between speeds and responsive terrain navigation through narrow forest paths and rocky mountain trails.