One of the highlights of The Game Awards was the reveal of the first teaser trailer for The Witcher 4, the long-awaited sequel to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Now, the game's director, Sebastian Kalemba, has shared some insights about the upcoming sequel in a scene-by-scene breakdown of the teaser.

Kalemba confirmed that the events of this teaser are a part of The Witcher 4's story, and not merely a one-off creation for the trailer. He set the stage for the unfolding tragedy by revealing that the scenes are set in Stromford, an "isolated village up north." This part of the continent doesn't rely on Witchers to hunt their monsters. Instead, a young woman from the village has been chosen to be a ritual sacrifice.

The girl in question is named Mioni, and her family and the townspeople aren't the only ones using her. Kalemba states that Ciri is also using Mioni as bait by allowing her to sing the song that summons the monster, the Bauk. However, Ciri isn't willing to risk Mioni's life after that, so she sends her back to the village before the fight with the Bauk begins.

Unfortunately for Ciri, her hard-fought battle against the Bauk appears to be for nothing when she discovers that Mioni has been murdered by the townspeople. Intriguingly, Kalemba suggested that there is a way to save Mioni from her fate. He then hinted at choices and the resulting consequences for those decisions. So perhaps it's possible to slay the monster and keep Mioni alive. Or maybe the cost of Mioni's survival means the Bauk must be spared. We can only speculate for now.

Kalemba also recently explained how Cyberpunk 2077's difficult development has inspired CD Projekt Red to make beneficial changes to the way The Witcher 4 is being developed. The team has teased that The Witcher 4 will be "bigger and better" than both Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. It's currently unknown when The Witcher 4 will be released, as the project only recently ramped up its team to over 400 developers and began full production.