A video created by the tvgry YouTube channel, GryOnline, and GameStar to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 3 provides fascinating insights. CD Projekt RED developers discussed various topics, including Yennefer’s differing appearance in the intro and the unexpected success of the game.
One notable point from the video explains why Ciri and Yennefer, central to Geralt’s story, didn’t appear until the third game in the series.
“That would be a waste”
Initially, Geralt wasn’t supposed to be the main character in the first The Witcher. When he became the focus, there wasn’t enough room to properly introduce Ciri and Yennefer. Marcin Blacha explained that adding both characters would have diminished their potential, so the team chose to wait.
Even when developing the second game, the same reasoning applied. The story in Assassins of Kings was about something else, so including Ciri and Yennefer would have been unnecessary.
Introducing Yennefer or Ciri in the second game would have been a waste.
For The Wild Hunt, the developers knew from the start that they wanted to include Ciri, and thus Yennefer also had her place.
We gave them the recognition they deserved and let them shine as great characters.