The Witcher 4 is set to be released next year, but the wait can be eased with another game from the Witcher universe. In this game, you experience familiar characters, make decisions, fight, and … swipe?
What kind of game is this? The new Witcher game is Reigns: The Witcher by Nerial, published by Devolver Digital.
Reigns is essentially an interactive narrative where you make decisions using cards. In the main game, you rule a kingdom as a medieval monarch. There are several spin-offs, including one based on Game of Thrones. This February, the “The Witcher” variant of the series will be released.
In Reigns: The Witcher, you take on the role of Geralt of Rivia, hunt monsters, stir up trouble, or treat yourself to a bath. The story is told as part of the ballads of Dandelion. One of the central mechanics is that you must “swipe” left or right like on Tinder to make decisions.
The trailer already gives a first impression of Reigns: The Witcher:
At its core, Reigns: The Witcher is a “Witcher fanfiction simulator”
These are the game mechanics: You take on the role of the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia and make your decisions by swiping cards left or right. Each of these decisions has direct consequences for the further course of the game. Dandelion’s ballads send you on dangerous, but also degrading quests from the residents, which can lead to dramatic turns.
On your adventures, you will encounter familiar figures like Yennefer, Triss, and Vesemir – and everything is based on Dandelion’s own version of the ballads. Each playthrough is unique, as you draw different cards and your decisions lead to different consequences. If you fail, you still learn something for the next run.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Narrative Designers Oscar Harrington-Shaw and Design Director Francois Alliot explain that the battles in Reigns: The Witcher aim to capture the feeling of how Geralt “dances” around his opponents with a drawn sword. This all takes place in the simple format of the game: You swipe left and right in rhythm to avoid attacks.
At its core, Reigns: The Witcher is a “Witcher fanfiction simulator,” say the developers. You play as Geralt, who tries to survive within Dandelion’s songs, with quests that Geralt could plausibly have experienced, but also with stories that Dandelion has probably embellished a bit to entertain his audience.
When will the game be released? Reigns: The Witcher will be released on February 25, 2026, for PC on Steam and GOG, as well as for mobile devices. You can already add the game to your wishlist on Steam to not miss the release and further updates. The price is not yet known, but the main game and other spin-offs all range between 3 and 5 Euros.
Some of the characters you encounter in Reigns: The Witcher are already seen in the trailer for the new game. Who else will join Geralt will be revealed by the time of the release. By the way, in our ranking, we have sorted the most powerful figures around Geralt of Rivia according to their strength: The 10 most powerful characters from The Witcher in the Power Ranking
