The Witcher 4 Lifts Inspiration From Baldur's Gate 3, Won't Affect Open-World

The Witcher 4 is taking inspiration from Baldur’s Gate 3 in the best way possible, without compromising on what makes The Witcher games so good in the first place.

As far as fantasy games go I’d argue there’s a big three that should be regarded as the best of the best.

In no particular order they are The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Baldur’s Gate 3.

All of the above games have given gamers a fantasy world experience like no other, championing their respective game mechanics and narratives to give us adventures we won’t see forget, all of which feel infinitely replayable too.

Baldur’s Gate 3 in particular has inspired many gaming industry creatives since its release in 2023, even before it went on to win Game Of The Year.

Larian Studios

CD Projekt Red, the studio currently working on The Witcher 4 has named Baldur’s Gate 3 and Larian Studios as one of its inspirations for the next Witcher game, but don’t worry, it’s not changing the formula we’ve come to know and love from the series.

CD Projekt Red’s joint CEO Michał Nowakowski recently spoke with PC Gamer on the next entry in the ever-popular fantasy series, which is still a long way off releasing at the time of writing.

In the interview Nowakowski gushed about Larian’s fantastic RPG, and how even the veterans at CD Projekt Red felt like they could learn a thing or two from its design.

"There was a lot of inspiration in what Baldur's Gate 3 did,” began Nowakowski, “but I think we're still sticking to what was in Witcher 3, Cyberpunk.”

Nowakowski went on to say: “But we don't want to just make another game like that, just with better graphics. We do want to innovate."

It was made clear that The Witcher 4 isn’t going to copy Baldur’s Gate 3, and rightly so as it just wouldn’t work. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s open-world was impressive and with the technology we have now The Witcher 4 will be even more so. Baldur’s Gate 3 on the other hand pushed aside an expansive open-world for richer storytelling and interactable environments/characters.

Nowakowski implied that CD Projekt Red has taken inspiration from the way Baldur’s Gate 3’s world and narrative was formatted, but it won’t conflict with the core DNA of the modern Witcher games, nor play into how the open-world is designed.

The Witcher 4’s release date is currently anyone’s guess but after Cyberpunk 2077 I think we can all agree that CD Projekt Red should have all the time in the world to make it the best it can be.