CDPR Contemplated Cutting The Witcher 3's Swimming: The Cost of Immersion

Sometimes, the smallest features in a game can hide some of the biggest development stories. That's certainly the case with swimming in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Adam Badowski, the joint CEO of CD Projekt Red, recently shared a fascinating anecdote from the game's development. He recalled posing a seemingly simple question during a planning session: "We have water in the game, so shouldn't there be swimming?" The reaction was striking – a moment of near silence, followed by a palpable concern. The team worried that adding a swimming feature would inevitably require cutting something else from the already ambitious project, diverting precious development resources.

This moment highlights a crucial tension in creating vast, immersive worlds. It’s easy to assume that because water exists visually, swimming should logically exist too. And once swimming is there, the mind jumps to diving, exploration beneath the surface, and the entirely new gameplay possibilities that unlocks. As Badowski pointed out, this "chain of logic" quickly escalates. Implementing swimming necessitated designing underwater environments, adjusting lighting and visibility, potentially changing how characters interact with submerged objects, and even influencing quest design. It wasn't just about adding a new movement type; it fundamentally suggested a deeper layer to the world.

This experience underscores the complexity of open-world design. Often, developers focus intensely on the major plotlines, epic battles, and grand vistas. Yet, these "small" features – the ability to swim, the behaviour of fish, the way light filters underwater – are vital cogs in the machine of immersion. They contribute to the feeling that Geralt inhabits a truly living, breathing world, one where physics and logic apply consistently, even in the water. Badowski emphasized this point, contrasting The Witcher 3's approach with games like GTA.

Take GTA V, for instance. In its world, the consequences of actions are often severe and permanent. You might get shot, lose health, and die. The game doesn't just simulate a city; it simulates a place where bad things can happen to you, reinforcing the stakes. Similarly, The Witcher 3 uses its systems, including the nuanced crafting, dialogue choices, and now, the swimming mechanics, to build a sense of weight and consequence. If you can swim freely, explore lakes, and dive into caves, it subtly reinforces the idea that this isn't just a fantasy landscape, but one governed by rules Geralt, and by extension the player, must adhere to. It makes the world feel less like a backdrop and more like a character itself.

Badowski believes it's precisely these kinds of seemingly minor, yet internally consistent features that elevate The Witcher 3 from a visually impressive game to a truly memorable one. He stated, "Even a small feature can trigger a chain reaction, making the entire development process incredibly complex. But it's precisely this complexity that makes the world feel real." The initial hesitation about swimming wasn't just about cost; it was about maintaining that delicate balance between ambition and feasibility, and ensuring that every part of the world, no matter how small, felt earned and integral. The fact that this debate happened and the decision was made to embrace the complexity speaks volumes about the commitment CDPR had to crafting a world where logic, however intricate, held.

It also serves as a reminder of the journey itself. The Witcher 3 wasn't just built; it was meticulously crafted over years, with countless discussions weighing the cost of features against the overall vision. The swimming system, born from that moment of silence and later blossomed into a significant part of the experience, stands as a testament to that philosophy. It wasn't added because it was easy; it was added because it felt right for the world being built. And it's features like this, wrestling with the details and the ripple effects of every decision, that ultimately define the magic of open-world games like The Witcher 3.