The tabletop RPG version of the popular Witcher series has been put on an indefinite hiatus following the reveal of CD Projekt’s return to the series. With a new video game in the oven, The Witcher TTRPG devs are being forced to wait before continuing their work.
In an interview with IGN, lead designer Cody Pondsmith explained that the tabletop game has been restricted by the reveal of a new video game. With the video game in the early stages of development, the team has no idea when they can continue working.
“We're doing alright over here at Talsorian [Games],” Pondsmith explained. “Though the news is disappointing to say the least. We don't have a time frame yet as many things are still up in the air with [CD Projekt Red]."
CD Projekt is currently working on two games in The Witcher series, as well as its upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. The Polish studio is working on a full remake of the first game as well as the fourth mainline entry in the series, codenamed Polaris. However, with the latter game expected to release in 2025 at the absolute earliest, The Witcher TTRPG devs may be left in the dust.
For Pondsmith, the case is a curious one. As the tabletop game is set between Assassin of Kings and The Wild Hunt, the decisions made in Polaris’ story shouldn’t alter the tabletop game at all. Nevertheless, with a series as deep with lore as this is, the developer needs to make sure everything fits, even if it has yet to be written.
“New content we have planned isn’t directly related to The Witcher 4,” he explained. “But it touches on a lot of parts of the lore of The Witcher that are integral to the entire canon… We’ve had countless meetings covering days’ worth of time discussing the lore of The Continent and the direction of the Witcher franchise. What we’ve come to realize is that it would be extremely difficult or perhaps impossible to continue work on The Witcher TTRPG line at the moment and still maintain the connection with CD Projekt Red’s upcoming plans."
The Witcher TTRPG will be coming back in the future, and smaller content drops are coming before the hiatus, but for fans of the incredibly deep board game, there will be no huge additions for a number of years.
CD Projekt RED is currently wrapping up work on Cyberpunk 2077. With Phantom Liberty posed to be the last expansion for the game, all eyes are locked on the next Witcher project.