Doug Cockle, the iconic voice behind Geralt in CD Projekt's The Witcher series, has strongly responded to the backlash against The Witcher 4 focusing on Ciri as the protagonist. In a recent video by Fall Damage, Cockle dismissed the criticism, saying, "That's just stupid," and firmly rejected the notion that the game's direction is "woke."

"It's not woke," Cockle emphasized. "There's nothing woke about it. [Ciri]'s a cool character from The Witcher, and they're gonna focus on that character, and that's awesome." Despite reprising his role as Geralt in The Witcher 4, Cockle supports the shift to Ciri, arguing that it's time for Geralt to take a well-deserved break. "We can't just have Geralt for every single game for The Witcher ad nauseam, out through eternity," he stated, pointing out that Blood and Wine was meant to conclude Geralt's journey.

Cockle celebrates Ciri's role, dismissing detractors with a playful raspberry. He also suggested that the choice to feature Ciri is rooted in the original novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. "If you read the books, then you understand why CD Projekt went down this avenue," he explained, noting the untapped potential in Ciri's story from the books that wasn't fully explored in The Witcher 3.

Cockle encouraged critics to read the novels, asserting, "If you think it's woke, read the damn books—they're good, first of all. And secondly, you won't think it's so woke anymore." This comes as CD Projekt's games are set post the events of Sapkowski's final novel, though the author has distanced his work from the video game continuations.

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IGN has previously discussed Geralt's return in The Witcher 4 with CD Projekt's franchise and lore designers, who explained how the timeline aligns with the established events, reinforcing the narrative shift towards Ciri.