During The Game Awards, CD Projekt Red announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would have a second playable character, but didn’t reveal who it would be.

It turns out, as most everybody suspected, that it’s Ciri, the descendant of “a long-lost Elven-blood lineage”.

According to CD Project Red, Ciri is a quick, agile, “exceptional” swordfighter with unique abilities that players will be able to unlock as the game progresses. Apparently, she also has some form of “mythical power”, but CD Projekt Red isn’t commenting on that at the moment.

Confirming what one of our fans, Kerchatin, speculated, Ciri will likely be playable like cut-away characters were in The Witcher 2, but have an expanded scope. CD Projekt Red stated, “While Ciri is a major character, she is not a playable character in the same way as Geralt. The game is still about him, his story, and how you, as the player, choose to face the choices and encounters in front of you.”

CD Project Red has recently delayed The Witcher 3 until May 19th, 2015. How much did this have to do with Ciri’s inclusion? Were the studio’s plans to include her as a substantial, second playable character a late development? This would certainly explain the surprise announcement, and the game’s delay.