CD Projekt Red has revealed that the option to romance Triss Merigold in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was added late in development, after initially focusing solely on Yennefer. This decision introduced key personal conflict to Geralt's story. The disclosure comes from co-CEO Adam Badowski in a recent PC Gamer interview.
Development Revelation
For much of its development, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt centered on Geralt's relationship with Yennefer of Vengerberg, without offering players a choice between her and Triss Merigold. CD Projekt Red co-CEO Adam Badowski explained in a PC Gamer interview that the Triss romance option was introduced later to add depth and personality to the narrative. "[The romance with Triss] wasn't [there] from the beginning," Badowski said. "But at some point we understood that this lack of conflict, personal conflict... There was a lack of something... This decision was made pretty late, but it was great. It was a great decision."
Background Context
The choice between Yennefer and Triss has become a defining element of player experiences in The Witcher 3, influencing the game's emotional farewell to Geralt. Yennefer and her daughter Ciri were introduced in the third game, as the studio felt ready to tackle these central figures from Andrzej Sapkowski's books after building the world in The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Triss, however, played a prominent role as a romance option in the earlier titles, including steamy sequences that highlighted her connection to Geralt.
This late addition explains why the story feels weighted toward Yennefer, according to lead writer Marcin Blacha, who emphasized the importance of the Geralt-Ciri-Yennefer trio. The revelation coincides with the game's 10th anniversary in 2025, and CD Projekt Red is preparing a final patch to add mod support for console versions. The studio is also developing The Witcher 4 and a remake of the first Witcher game, both using Unreal Engine 5.