It’s been seven years since the last mainline game in The Witcher franchise was released, and fans have been eager for any news from CD Projekt Red about its next installment. Players may have been temporarily placated with the release of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, but it was confirmation of the next main game in the franchise that fans were really holding out for. In a surprise move from the studio, CD Projekt Red announced that the next game in The Witcher series was in development with a tantalizingly sparse teaser image. Not much else has been revealed so far – not even the title – but the news that the next game was on the way was enough to get fans excited.
Despite the teaser image featuring nothing but a Witcher medallion half-buried in the snow, this didn’t stop players from theorizing about where the newest installment would take them. Although gamers were sure that the medallion featured wasn’t from the School of the Wolf, there was some speculation that it might be from the School of the Cat. These rumors were laid to rest by global community director Marcin Momot, who revealed that the medallion is actually from the School of the Lynx, a much less well-known school that has mainly appeared in Witcher fan fiction. While the focus on a new school offers lots of intriguing opportunities for The Witcher’s story, CD Projekt Red shouldn’t abandon the already established Witcher schools in the next game.
The New School Of The Lynx
The teaser image released as part of the announcement of the next Witcher title came with the tagline “A New Saga Begins,” hinting at even more changes to the Witcher story besides the focus on a new school. It seems likely that the next game won’t feature either Ciri or Geralt prominently, and the fact that the School of the Lynx will be the focus instead of Geralt’s own School of the Wolf appears to confirm this. Details are still incredibly limited regarding the upcoming game, but a few interesting tidbits have been revealed, like the confirmed use of Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher game.
The School of the Lynx hasn’t been an ‘official’ part of The Witcher franchise up until now, so it remains to be seen how the developer will use them in the upcoming game. Depending on when the next game is set, the School of the Lynx could be a newly established institute or a much older school that no longer exists by the time players are part of Geralt’s adventures. CD Projekt Red may take inspiration from the fan fiction around the School of the Lynx and capitalize on the connections between it and the School of the Cat from the fan-made content, or it might choose to establish its own original lore.
The Legacy Of The Older Witcher Schools
Throughout The Witcher games, players are slowly introduced to other Witcher schools – the institutes that help to train and equip the Witchers so they can go about their monster-slaying business. Each of the schools has its own unique history and style, producing a slew of different types of Witchers. The complicated history surrounding the Witchers and their various factions helps to add color and depth to the world of The Witcher games, as well as a tragic air to the beleaguered Witchers themselves. The variety of techniques, specializations, and philosophies of each Witcher school is a great way to produce individualized characters while also adding complexity to the world.
Each of the Witcher schools offers unique avenues for storytelling, and it would be a waste if they’re forgotten due to the excitement around the new Lynx school. While a number of Witcher schools have declined like the School of the Cat or disappeared altogether like the School of the Griffin, there are still lots of places The Witcher could go with the established schools. There are some truly engrossing elements to some Witcher schools that don’t feature as prominently as the School of the Wolf, like the sea-faring antics of the School of the Crane or the desert-dwelling School of the Manticore.
So many of the Witcher schools haven’t had their fair share of the limelight, and there is still much to explore in their histories. It would be a waste if they are abandoned in favor of a new school since fans of the franchise are still looking for details about the other Witcher establishments. The variety of schools and what they represent makes the already fascinating order of Witchers even more interesting, and seeing how the new School of the Lynx will fit into the rich tapestry of Witcher lore could be a great focus for the upcoming game.
A new Witcher game is in development.
