Kingdom Come: Deliverance Veteran Karel Kolmann Joins The Witcher 4 Team as Senior Quest Designer

Major RPG Talent Shift: Warhorse Veteran Joins CD Projekt Red for Project Polaris

CD Projekt Red (CDPR), the acclaimed Polish studio behind the Witcher franchise and Cyberpunk 2077, has secured a significant talent acquisition, bolstering the development team for its highly anticipated next title, Project Polaris (commonly referred to as The Witcher 4). Karel Kolmann, a veteran developer known for his work on the critically successful Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, has officially joined CDPR as a Senior Quest Designer.

This move signals CDPR’s commitment to delivering a deeply immersive, narrative-driven experience, leveraging expertise from one of the industry’s most respected teams specializing in realistic, non-linear role-playing game (RPG) design.

Kolmann’s transition from Warhorse Studios—the Czech developer responsible for the historical RPG series Kingdom Come: Deliverance (KCD)—is particularly noteworthy given the shared emphasis both studios place on player agency, complex world-building, and high-stakes narrative choices.

Karel Kolmann’s Background and Expertise

Karel Kolmann spent a substantial portion of his career contributing to the development of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise. His work at Warhorse Studios centered on crafting the intricate, often unforgiving quest structures that defined the KCD experience.

The Kingdom Come Design Philosophy

Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) stood out in the crowded RPG market for its dedication to historical accuracy and realism. Unlike traditional fantasy RPGs, KCD forced players to contend with realistic limitations, such as needing to eat, sleep, and maintain equipment, while navigating a complex medieval world where social status and skills genuinely mattered.

Kolmann’s role in quest design within this framework meant creating scenarios where solutions were rarely black and white, and failure often led to unique, branching consequences rather than a simple ‘game over.’ This expertise is highly valuable for CDPR, which aims to evolve the narrative complexity established in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The skills Kolmann brings to the table include:

• Non-Linear Storytelling: Designing quests with multiple, often hidden, paths and outcomes based on player skills, dialogue choices, and even time of day.
• Consequence-Driven Systems: Ensuring that player actions, even minor ones, have lasting, visible impacts on the game world and its inhabitants.
• Immersive Realism: Integrating gameplay mechanics (like reputation, skill checks, and historical context) directly into narrative progression.

His involvement in the development of the recently announced sequel, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, further solidifies his standing as a leading voice in modern, complex RPG quest architecture. His departure from Warhorse Studios to join CDPR is a major loss for the Czech team but a significant gain for the Polish giant.

The Impact on Project Polaris (The Witcher 4)

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Project Polaris will kick off a brand-new saga for the Witcher universe, moving away from Geralt of Rivia’s story and focusing on a new protagonist, likely associated with the School of the Lynx. The hiring of a specialist like Kolmann suggests a clear strategic direction for this new era of the franchise.

Doubling Down on Player Agency

The Witcher 3 is celebrated for its moral ambiguity and impactful choices. However, the design philosophy of Kingdom Come: Deliverance often pushes realism and consequence even further. Kolmann’s influence could translate into several key areas for The Witcher 4:

1. Enhanced Realism in Quests: Integrating survival or social mechanics more deeply into quest resolution, forcing players to rely on specific skills (like persuasion, stealth, or combat) rather than simply following a waypoint.
2. Greater Interconnectedness: Ensuring that side quests and minor decisions have more profound, unexpected ripple effects on the main narrative and the world state.
3. Refined Dialogue Systems: Crafting dialogue trees where the player’s knowledge, background, and even appearance influence NPC reactions and available options, mirroring the detailed social simulation found in KCD.

This focus aligns perfectly with CDPR’s stated goal of making The Witcher 4 a technical and narrative leap forward, especially as they transition development to Unreal Engine 5—a major shift from their proprietary REDengine used for previous titles.

The Competitive Landscape of RPG Development

The acquisition of top talent like Kolmann underscores the intense competition among AAA studios to secure developers with proven experience in crafting massive, interconnected open-world RPGs. The success of recent titles from competitors, such as Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3, has raised player expectations regarding narrative depth, player freedom, and the sheer volume of meaningful content.

CDPR is positioning The Witcher 4 not just as a sequel, but as a standard-bearer for the next generation of open-world RPGs. Bringing in a Senior Quest Designer with a track record of delivering deeply complex, player-driven narratives is a strong indicator that CDPR intends to meet, and potentially exceed, those elevated expectations.

Project Polaris: Development Status and Timeline

While CDPR has not provided specific release windows, the development of Project Polaris is currently in full swing. The studio has publicly confirmed that the game is being built using Unreal Engine 5, marking a significant technological pivot intended to streamline development and maximize graphical fidelity.

CDPR’s Multi-Project Strategy

Project Polaris is one of several major titles currently in development at CDPR, including the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel (Project Orion) and a remake of the original Witcher game (Project Canis Majoris). The core focus, however, remains on establishing the new Witcher trilogy with Polaris.

Kolmann’s integration into the team at this stage suggests that the core narrative and quest structures for The Witcher 4 are being finalized and implemented. Senior Quest Designers are crucial during the pre-production and early production phases, laying the foundational rules for how player choices will interact with the world’s systems.

This hire, combined with the technological shift to Unreal Engine 5, paints a picture of a CDPR that is investing heavily in both technical infrastructure and narrative expertise to ensure The Witcher 4 is a worthy successor to one of the most beloved RPG series of all time.

Key Takeaways

The addition of Karel Kolmann to the The Witcher 4 development team is a major story for the RPG industry, signaling CDPR’s ambitious goals for Project Polaris:

• High-Profile Hire: Karel Kolmann, a veteran Senior Quest Designer from Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come: Deliverance), has joined CD Projekt Red.
• Project Focus: Kolmann will apply his expertise to Project Polaris (The Witcher 4), the first game in a new Witcher trilogy.
• Narrative Strategy: The move suggests CDPR is prioritizing the complex, non-linear, and consequence-driven quest design philosophy perfected in the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series.
• Industry Trend: This talent acquisition highlights the competitive nature of AAA RPG development and the demand for specialists in deep, immersive narrative systems.

Conclusion

For fans of both the Witcher series and the realistic RPG mechanics of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, the news of Karel Kolmann joining CDPR is highly encouraging. It confirms that CDPR is not resting on the laurels of The Witcher 3, but is actively seeking out specialized talent to push the boundaries of player agency and narrative immersion in Project Polaris. As the new Witcher saga takes shape, this hire solidifies the expectation that the game will offer one of the most detailed and morally complex worlds in modern gaming.