As Fool's Theory continues work on The Witcher remake, the project is facing scrutiny from those who built the foundation of the 2007 cult classic. Artur Ganszyniec, the lead story designer of the original title, recently shared his perspective on the challenges inherent in modernizing the debut entry of CD Projekt Red's flagship RPG series.

Reflecting on the original development, Ganszyniec described the 2007 project as a "modding effort" born from a group of enthusiasts working with limited resources and the restrictive Aurora engine. While he acknowledges that The Witcher 3 represents the vision the team originally aspired to, he cautions against simply applying that same open-world template to the first game.

The Risks of an Open-World Approach

Ganszyniec argues that the original game’s success was tied to its tightly controlled, linear structure. In the original, developers knew exactly where players would be, allowing them to trigger scenes and narrative beats with precision.

"If we opened the locations up, there would be more space, and if there's more space, there needs to be more content," Ganszyniec explained. "In an open world, we'd have to approach that completely differently."

He pointed to the game's fifth act—centered around Lake Vizima—as a potential casualty of an open-world conversion. He noted that giving players the freedom to bypass intended routes via boat could break the narrative flow he and his team meticulously crafted. Ultimately, Ganszyniec suggests that turning the remake into an ambitious reimagining rather than a faithful update may not be a pragmatic move, noting that the cost and return of such an effort "begin to diverge" at a certain point.

Despite his skepticism regarding an open-world shift, Ganszyniec does support several key updates for the remake. He specifically advocates for:

  • Removing romance cards: The original mechanic, which saw Geralt hoarding images of women he romanced, is widely considered dated.
  • Combat system overhaul: The "rhythm-like" combat of the 2007 version is a primary target for modernization.
  • Improved level design: Refining the environment layouts to better suit contemporary standards.

Ganszyniec remains firm on keeping the amnesiac storyline intact. He believes this narrative choice—which left Geralt without memories of Yennefer or Ciri—actually serves as an effective entry point for new players who have not read the source books, effectively easing them into the broader franchise before they move on to The Witcher 3 and the upcoming The Witcher 4.