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Is The Witcher 3 Worth Playing Without the First Two Games?

The Witcher 3 works as a starting point: its search for Ciri is clear without the earlier games, which mainly add saga and character context.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Yes. You can follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt without playing the first two games: its central story is Geralt searching for Ciri, his adopted daughter, while the Wild Hunt pursues her. The earlier games add context about Geralt’s relationships, past events and choices, but they are background rather than a prerequisite for understanding that main goal. CD PROJEKT RED’s official game description presents that story as the focus of the third game.

What the first two games add

The games follow Geralt across a continuing saga. CD PROJEKT RED’s franchise descriptions frame the first game as an introduction to Geralt and the world around him, and The Witcher 2 as a political and personal story shaped by branching paths. The Witcher 3 continues the saga, but its central objective—finding Ciri—is clear on its own.

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Playing in order gives you more context for characters and lets you see earlier events and choices unfold chronologically. Skipping ahead means some relationships and references may carry less weight; it does not erase the third game’s main story.

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Should you start with The Witcher 3?

Start with The Witcher 3 if you are most interested in its open-world role-playing, combat, consequential choices and Ciri’s story. The game also has two major story expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, described on the official game page.

Choose the earlier games first if experiencing Geralt’s saga in chronological order and understanding more of its background matters more to you than getting directly to the third game. There is no need to treat them as required homework.

Can you account for choices from The Witcher 2?

The PC game manual describes an option to answer questions that simulates choices from The Witcher 2. That can give players who skipped it a way to select some prior decisions. The manual documents this for the PC version; it does not establish that the option works identically on every platform or exactly reproduces a save file. Read the PC manual.

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Which edition is available?

CD PROJEKT RED announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered as available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 through the digital stores named in its availability announcement. The announcement says the expansions are available to owners of the game on those platforms. Check the store for your region and platform to confirm the edition and current availability before buying.

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Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
SaleBestseller No. 2
Bestseller No. 3
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Wolf Armor) 7' Action Figure
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Wolf Armor) 7" Action Figure
Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure based off The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Video Game; Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing
$16.99
Bestseller No. 4
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Viper Armor: Teal) 7' Action Figure with Accessories
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Viper Armor: Teal) 7" Action Figure with Accessories
Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure based off The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Video Game; Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing
$18.33
Rank #4
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Viper Armor: Teal) 7" Action Figure with Accessories
  • Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure based off The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Video Game
  • Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing
  • Geralt features his classic Viper Armor dyed teal like you can do in game
  • Includes silver sword, steel sword, and base
  • Showcased in The Witcher themed window box packaging
Rank #3
McFarlane Toys The Witcher Geralt of Rivia (Wolf Armor) 7" Action Figure
  • Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure based off The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Video Game
  • Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing
  • Includes Geralt’s silver sword, steel sword, sheath, Griffin head trophy, Igni fire blast, and base
  • Figure may vary as ultra rare Chase Figure may be received
  • Showcased in The Witcher themed window box packaging

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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