The writer of The Witcher 3's best quest has returned to CD Projekt after a decade away

The Bloody Baron — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

XThat the quest 'Family Matters' stands out as the best quest in The Witcher 3—a game filled with great storytelling and characters—is a true testament to the skill of its creators. That's why it's so exciting that one of the main forces behind it, writer Karolina Stachyra, has returned to CD Projekt after a decade away.

Stachyra's LinkedIn profile indicates that she's been working with the studio as a freelance consultant since February, and returned as a full-time writer in August. The quiet comeback went unnoticed until the weekend, though, when b0ysbrokenheart posted about it on X.

And here's the good stuff:

WHY ARE PEOPLE EXCITED?

We laid it out in 2015: What appears to be a simple missing persons job for Geralt slowly, painfully unwinds into "The Witcher 3’s most emotional and disturbing quest," driven by the conflicted, compelling, and deeply tragic character of the Bloody Baron. As we put it back when all this was new:

"It takes very real, important subjects—alcoholism and domestic abuse—and deals with them in a brutal, heartbreaking, and honest way. But, thanks to the blood-curdling botchling, it still feels like part of The Witcher’s dark fantasy world. It’s superbly written, brilliantly acted, and the branching paths make it well worth replaying. It’s The Witcher 3 and developer CD Projekt RED at their absolute best, and was the highlight of the game for many players."

As the writer of the dialog and cutscenes in Family Matters, not to mention her work elsewhere in the game and on the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions, Stachyra's return to CD Projekt—following turns as narrative director at Techland and GSC Game World—is great news for RPG fans, regardless of what game she's working on.

The Bloody Baron and Ciri — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

And since we're left to speculate on that, consider this: Ciri, the lead of the upcoming The Witcher 4, was a central character in the Family Matters quest and key to demonstrating the depth and nuance of the Bloody Baron, who treated her like a surrogate daughter. Might an adoptive family reunion be in the works? It's not the worst idea I've ever heard.

TOPICS

PRODUCTS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.