Geralt of Rivia's story has run for 40 years across 9 books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, 4 seasons of Netflix's The Witcher and a series of games from CD Projekt Red. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launched on September 29, 2026, and The Witcher IV was voted Most Wanted Game at the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards. Check out the official post down below:
Where The Witcher Started
Sapkowski's first Witcher short story, "The Witcher," was entered in a short story contest run by the Polish magazine Fantastyka in 1986 and placed third. He kept writing stories about Geralt, a monster hunter for hire, and those stories became the first 2 books. The 5-novel saga that followed was published in Poland between 1994 and 1999.
The Witcher Books In Reading Order
Orbit, which publishes the books in English, lists the reading order this way:
- The Last Wish (short stories, Poland 1993)
- Sword of Destiny (short stories, Poland 1992)
- Blood of Elves (Poland 1994)
- The Time of Contempt (Poland 1995)
- Baptism of Fire (Poland 1996)
- The Tower of Swallows (Poland 1997)
- Lady of the Lake (Poland 1999)
- Season of Storms (standalone novel, Poland 2013)
- Crossroads of Ravens (standalone novel, Poland 2024)
Sword of Destiny came out first in Poland, but The Last Wish takes place earlier and introduces Geralt, so it goes first. The Last Wish also introduces Geralt's relationships with the sorceress Yennefer and the bard Dandelion. Sword of Destiny includes "The Sword of Destiny," the story where Geralt meets Ciri, the princess of Cintra who becomes the center of the saga.
The 5 saga novels follow Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri through a war between the Nilfgaardian Empire and the Northern Kingdoms, with Ciri hunted for the power of her Elder Blood. Blood of Elves opens with Geralt taking Ciri to train at Kaer Morhen, the witchers' keep.
The Prequel Novels
Season of Storms is set between the stories in The Last Wish, so it can be read any time after the first book. Crossroads of Ravens goes back further. Orbit released David French's English translation on September 30, 2025, at 400 pages. It follows a young Geralt, freshly graduated from Kaer Morhen, after the witcher Preston Holt saves him from the noose. The cover is below:
The Netflix Series
- Season 1 (December 20, 2019): adapts stories from The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny
- Season 2 (December 17, 2021): adapts Blood of Elves
- Season 3 (June 29 and July 27, 2023): adapts The Time of Contempt
- Season 4 (October 30, 2025): 8 episodes with Liam Hemsworth as Geralt
Henry Cavill played Geralt in the first 3 seasons, with Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, Freya Allan as Ciri and Joey Batey as Jaskier, the show's name for Dandelion. Season 4 brought in Hemsworth and added Laurence Fishburne as Regis. Seasons 4 and 5 adapt Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows and Lady of the Lake, and season 5 is the final season. As of this writing, Netflix has not announced a premiere date for it. The season 4 trailer is below:
Netflix has also released 4 other Witcher projects:
- The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (August 23, 2021): an animated film about Geralt's mentor Vesemir
- The Witcher: Blood Origin (December 25, 2022): a 4-episode prequel series set 1,200 years before the main series that shows the creation of the first witcher, starring Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown and Laurence O'Fuarain
- The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (February 11, 2025): an animated film based on the short story "A Little Sacrifice" from Sword of Destiny, with Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt in the games, voicing Geralt
- The Rats: A Witcher Tale (October 30, 2025)
As of this writing, all 4 seasons and all 4 spinoffs stream on Netflix in the U.S., according to JustWatch. The season 4 trailer was covered in THE WITCHER Season 4 Trailer Sees Liam Hemsworth "Reborn" As The New Geralt Of Rivia.
The Witcher Games
CD Projekt Red's games are set after the books and continue Geralt's story:
- The Witcher (October 2007)
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (May 19, 2015)
- Hearts of Stone (2015 expansion)
- Blood and Wine (2016 expansion)
The Witcher 3 follows Geralt as he searches for Ciri, who is being hunted by the Wild Hunt. Hearts of Stone pits him against Gaunter O'Dimm, and Blood and Wine takes him to the duchy of Toussaint. CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 3 has won more than 250 Game of the Year awards and sold more than 65 million copies. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launched on September 29, 2026, as a free upgrade for owners on PC through GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store and Battle.net, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. It includes both expansions. The key art is below:
Songs Of The Past And The Witcher Remake
A new expansion for The Witcher 3, Songs of the Past, is due in 2027 from CD Projekt Red and Fool's Theory. It adds a new region, Letten, and gives Geralt a chain weapon. Fool's Theory is also developing The Witcher Remake, a new version of the 2007 game. The Songs of the Past art is below:
The Witcher IV
CD Projekt Red revealed The Witcher IV at The Game Awards 2024 with a cinematic trailer of nearly 6 minutes, made with Platige Image. It is set after The Witcher 3 and starts a new trilogy, with Geralt's adoptive daughter Ciri as the protagonist in place of Geralt. The game introduces playable regions including Kovir, a kingdom that the books visit and earlier games only mention. Sebastian Kalemba is the game director, and the studio is building it in a customized version of Unreal Engine 5 under the codename Polaris. As of this writing, CD Projekt Red has not announced a release date. The reveal trailer is below:
Where did you start with The Witcher, The Last Wish, the Netflix series or The Witcher 3?
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