We have still seen very little of The Witcher 4, but a recent developer hire suggests CD Projekt Red may be taking the series’ combat problem seriously. Jacqueline Kate Salsman, formerly a senior combat designer at Santa Monica Studio on God of War and God of War Ragnarök, has joined the studio as an Expert Gameplay Designer.

Very little is known about how The Witcher 4 will actually play, so it remains unclear how different CD Projekt Red’s new entry will be from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A recent discovery, however, suggests the studio may be addressing one of the most commonly criticized parts of the series: its combat system. Reddit user Lymbasy spotted that Jacqueline Kate Salsman, formerly a senior combat designer at Santa Monica Studio on God of War and God of War Ragnarök, has joined CD Projekt Red as an Expert Gameplay Designer and is now working on The Witcher 4.

A God of War Veteran Could Matter a Lot

There is no clear indication yet of how deeply Salsman is involved in shaping The Witcher 4’s combat, but the hire is a promising sign on its own. Combat in The Witcher 3 was not bad, but for many players it was mostly functional: it served the adventure, yet rarely became a truly memorable, deep, or especially creative action system. That weakness stood out because Geralt’s tools, witcher signs, alchemy, monster-hunting preparation, and superhuman abilities gave the game far more combat potential than it ultimately used.

The modern God of War games, by contrast, feature one of the strongest third-person action combat systems of recent years. Their weapons feel meaningfully distinct, abilities shape playstyles, and fights against both regular enemies and bosses are built around rhythm, positioning, reaction, and creative combinations rather than simple button pressure. The system is satisfying at a basic level and still rewards high-level creativity from players who really learn how to use it.

That matters even more for The Witcher 4 because the new game centers on Ciri, whose canonical abilities go far beyond Geralt’s physical and witcher-based toolkit. If CD Projekt Red leans harder into Ciri’s speed, special powers, and very different fighting identity, the fourth game does not need to be chained to the slightly stiff foundations of The Witcher 3. The real question is how boldly the studio is willing to rethink combat, and whether Ciri will feel like her own mechanical lead rather than simply a faster version of Geralt.

Players will probably have to wait a while before seeing any of this in motion. CD Projekt Red has been talking more about The Witcher 4, including how it wants to avoid the same pitfalls that affected previous projects, especially Cyberpunk 2077, but a substantial new look at the game seems unlikely before next year’s The Witcher 3 expansion, Songs of the Past. Until then, this hire is more signal than proof: CD Projekt Red appears to understand that the next witcher game cannot simply be bigger and prettier. It also has to feel better to play.

Source: Wccftech