The developers of The Witcher 4 knew that making Ciri the protagonist would be controversial
, by Quentin
In an interview with VGC, the teams CD Projekt RED explained that they knew making Ciri the new main character could divide the fanbase, However, the devs are determined to prove that this was the right move.
They recognize players' concerns and understand the deep attachment to Geralt's character, forged through several games now. For them, these concerns are legitimate and deserve a response.
Here's exactly what they said:
I think we definitely knew it could be controversial for some people because of course, in the previous three Witcher games Geralt was the protagonist and I think everyone really loved playing as Geralt. [...] Ciri was already being set up as a second protagonist in the Andrzej Sapkowski novels and as the second playable character in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so for us it really was the natural evolution of what we’ve already been making for so long."*
The interview concludes with a promise from CD Projekt Red: to demonstrate that they can still deliver captivating, rewarding experiences, this time with Ciri as the protagonist.
Source: videogameschronicle.com