The Witcher 3’s Deleted Yennefer Ending Cutscene Explained

Nearly a decade has passed since the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but even after all this time, fans are still finding new things to love about the game. With the recent release of the Witcher REDkit, a modding tool for Witcher 3 that allows players to customize and expand the gameplay, the community is uncovering brand-new secrets about the franchise. Recently, a modder named Glassfish restored an alternate ending to the game, based on deleted scenes that CD Projekt RED had originally scrapped. This deleted content has opened up a world of possibilities about what could have been.

The restored scenes focus on tying up loose ends that weren’t addressed in the original ending and while the core gameplay features, such as multiple dialogue options and dynamic reactions based on chosen dialogue and previous gameplay decisions, were already complete without these scenes, the alternative ending gives the game a new direction and enriches the story. The scenes are inserted between the quests “On Thin Ice” and “Tedd Deireadh, The Final Age.” On top of that, added dialogue options are also sprinkled throughout the two final quests, which weren’t present in the original The Witcher3: Wild Hunt endings. One of these cut scenes features Yennefer and offers fans a lot of new information about her motives.

The Witcher 3’s Deleted Scenes Amplify Yennefer’s Motives and Priorities

The future of the Lodge of Sorceresses was left hanging in all possible original endings of The Witcher 3. This was because the game mainly focused on the protagonist Geralt, and Ciri, his adopted daughter. Originally, after Geralt defeats Eredin, King of the Wild Hunt, Yennefer teleports them to the bay. The two proceed to make their way towards Tor Gvalch’ca, where Ciri and Avallac’h currently are in the lore. In the restored scenes, an injured Geralt wakes up in a hospital instead of being rescued. He meets Yennefer there along with Triss and the Nilfgaardians and starts to ask around for Ciri.

Later on, the Lodge of Sorceresses gathers to cast a spell that would locate Ciri. Although the spell was successful, Emhyr, Nilfgaard’s emperor and Ciri’s father, orders the Sorceresses to be bound, except for Yennefer. To find Ciri, she betrays the rest of the Lodge by manipulating them into aiding Emhyr, and falsely promises them amnesty in return. Not just that, Yennefer had also suppressed the sorceresses’ abilities so they could be captured. Before the gathering, Yennefer gifts Triss a brooch to protect her abilities from being suppressed, and that helps her escape. Only then do Geralt and Yennefer begin their trek towards Tor Gvalch’ca.

The Status of Geralt’s Relationship With Skellige Was Up to the Player

Another restored scene absent from the original game addresses Geralt’s relationship with Skellige, one of his allied kingdoms. Before the Lodge of Sorceresses gathers to find Ciri, Geralt first witnesses Crach, Jarl of Skellige’s funeral, and then Cerys, Hjalmar, both children of Crach, or Donar, Jarl of Hindarsfjall would arrive to retrieve Crach’s body, depending, whoever the current ruler of Skellige is. Regardless of who comes, they get upset to see Geralt aiding the Nilfgaardians. Geralt’s answer to this situation, with the options of positive, negative, and silent, determines that person’s attitude towards him.

Deletion of The Witcher 3’s Scenes Was a Creative Decision

All in all, scraping the scenes was likely a creative decision by CDPR. When considering where the scenes are placed, a decision like this makes a lot of sense. These deleted scenes, for instance, break the momentum of the recent climactic battle with Eredin, which would lead to the final quest of the game and its conclusion. However, in the modded game they acted more like a lengthy intermission.

Not deleting the scenes would provide a concrete conclusion to what happened in the end and therefore, focusing on Geralt and Ciri’s relationship instead ultimately becomes the better option. Secondly, since players love to theorize about the possible outcomes of things left unconcluded in the games, it paves the way for ongoing discussions and keeps the community constantly talking about the game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3 is the third major installment in the Witcher series. In this game, players once again take up the mantle of Geralt, a monster hunter who roams the open world taking on contracts. For this entry, the major plot follows the disappearance of Ciri, Geralt’s ward, and his attempts to find her.

Released

May 19, 2015

ESRB

M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content

Expansions

The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone , The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

How Long To Beat

52 Hours

Metascore

94

PS Plus Availability

N/A

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