For the first few years of development, CD Projekt Red designed the game so players could create their own witcher, allowing for the possibility of an adventure distinct from the books. In the midst of this reflection, the developers revealed that, in the early stages of creating the The Witcher, the plan was to deliberately omit Geralt. Related: The Witcher 1 Is Free During GOG WitcherCon Sale Development on the first game began in 2002, and while many CD Projekt Red team members cringed fondly at The Witcher's 20-year-old graphics and extended dialogue scenes, they were happy with the open-world experience they were able to create.
Much of the developers' conversations were spent reminiscing about the early days of The Witcher, as well as discussing what is needed to make a successful video game adaptation of a popular book series. During one of these panels, CD Projekt Red revealed the original game almost didn't include the book series' central character, Geralt of Rivia. A celebration of all things The Witcher, WitcherCon included panels from developers of the video game franchise. Due to The Witcher's international multimedia popularity, Netflix and CD Projekt Red, developers of The Witcher teamed up to host the first WitcherCon on July 9, 2021.
