The Witcher nearly cut out Jennifer’s story (Photo Credit – Facebook)
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In a twist, the Witcher REDkit—a modding tool for The Witcher 3—has unearthed a never-before-seen alternate ending to the game. And it turns out that Yennefer’s story could have taken a very different turn.
So, what got cut? In the original ending, the focus remained squarely on Geralt and his adopted daughter, Ciri. The future of the Lodge of Sorceresses was left dangling, especially with Yennefer’s role in the aftermath of Eredin’s defeat. The newly restored scenes, however, shed some light on what could have been.
In this alternate reality, after Geralt defeats the Wild Hunt’s Eredin, the game doesn’t end with a grand rescue mission. Instead, as we initially saw, Geralt wakes up injured and alone in a hospital, not a heroic savior. There, he meets Yennefer—along with Triss and a bunch of Nilfgaardians—and asks about Ciri’s whereabouts. The next part? This is where Yennefer’s cunning and ambition shine. Instead of a straight path to Tor Gvalch’ca, Yennefer plays a dangerous game.
In the cut scenes, the Lodge of Sorceresses uses a powerful spell to find Ciri. It works, but Emperor Emhyr (Ciri’s father) orders the sorceresses to be captured, except for Yennefer. In a shocking twist, she betrays the Lodge, manipulating her fellow sorceresses and promising them amnesty in exchange for helping Emhyr. She even suppresses their magical abilities so they can be easily captured while secretly plotting her path to Ciri. Yennefer doesn’t play nice—but she plays smart.
Let’s discuss Triss because this deleted content doesn’t leave her out. Before the betrayal, Yennefer gifts Triss a brooch that protects her from having her powers suppressed. This allows Triss to escape and sets the stage for Geralt and Yennefer’s journey toward Ciri. It’s a tense, complicated web of politics, magic, and manipulation that was all but lost from the original game.
But why were these scenes cut in the first place? CD Projekt RED likely made the creative decision to trim them for pacing. The scenes appear right after the high-stakes battle with Eredin, and including them would have slowed down the momentum, potentially ruining the game’s climactic build. Plus, the deleted content offered a lot of closure on certain storylines—ones that would have distracted from Geralt and Ciri’s father-daughter arc. Ultimately, keeping the story focused on them made the most sense.
Interestingly, these deleted scenes were also a theoretical playground for fans. They left so much open to interpretation—like what exactly happened to the Lodge of Sorceresses—that fans could keep the conversation going long after the game ended. And, with The Witcher REDkit now allowing for mods, the discovery of these lost moments means we’ll never stop speculating about “what could have been.”
Ultimately, The Witcher 3 became a cultural milestone thanks to its tight narrative and unforgettable characters. But with these restored scenes, we glimpse an alternate version of the game that was too ambitious for its time. A version where Yennefer’s power, deception, and fierce loyalty were on full display—and, honestly, we kind of wish we’d gotten to see that play out.
