CD Projekt Red Confirms New Witcher Game's Lynx Medallion Theory
According to a CD Projekt Red developer, the new Witcher game's medallion is indeed shaped like a lynx. The crew at CDPR set the internet ablaze earlier this week upon announcing the next phase of its Witcher saga. Of course, the studio didn't offer much in the way of concrete details, but the medallion-centric teaser image that accompanied the news sparked a whole host of fan theories online.
One theory, in particular, revolves around the Cat School and Ciri's loose ties to it. In the books, Ciri retrieves her Cat School medallion from a Witcher-killing mercenary hired to take her life. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt doesn't directly reference this instance, yet her playable sections do feature a Cat School icon on the UI instead of the Wolf symbol that appears when players control Geralt. Needless to say, the belief that the new game's teaser placed a cat medallion front and center led many to assume Ciri would take up the mantle as protagonist. Other fans, however, were quick to notice the Witcher medallion's lynx-like shape, which opens up another can of worms in terms of the CD Projekt Red-created lore.
Amid ongoing speculation about the exact shape of the recently teased Witcher medallion, CD Projekt Red's Global Communication Director, Robert Malinowski, decided to clear the air. Speaking with Eurogamer, the developer confirmed the new medallion does indeed bear the shape of a lynx's head, noting that "some mysteries should not be so mysterious." Malinowski's words certainly put an end to the speculation, yet they raise one more pressing question - how will this fit into Witcher canon?
The Witcher universe plays host to several Witcher schools, though none of them - in neither books nor the games - bear the mark of a lynx. Naturally, this caused much confusion regarding the medallion. As many have noted, however, a Witcher school based on a lynx does exist in fanfiction that posits Lambert and Keira Metz helped found the institution after Vesemir's death in The Witcher 3 led to the remaining Wolf School members going their separate ways. Does this mean CD Projekt Red will adhere to fan-written fiction in its next adventure? It no longer seems beyond the realm of possibility.
At the time of writing, next to nothing is known about CDPR's plans for its return to the world of The Witcher. Barring the medallion-related confusion, the studio did confirm one noteworthy piece of information, though - instead of the proprietary REDengine that powers multiple Witcher games and Cyberpunk 2077, the new title will run on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 technology. Since the project remains in the nascent stages of production, there's no telling when the team will be ready to share more details.
Source: Eurogamer