At BlizzCon earlier this month, CD Projekt Red offered a rare look into its own content strategy, explaining why its flagship franchises like The Witcher and Cyberpunk consistently appear as guest content in other titles, but rarely host crossover content of their own. Level design lead Miles Tost addressed the question directly when asked whether the studio had considered adding Diablo-themed outfits to The Witcher games, revealing that the decision stems from a firm commitment to content parity across every platform and storefront. Meanwhile, the flow of collaboration continues in the opposite direction, with a Geralt-inspired Barbarian skin confirmed for Diablo 4 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners outfits slated to arrive next year.
The one-way nature of these partnerships has long been evident to fans. When players purchase The Witcher 3 Remastered on Battle.net, they receive no Diablo-inspired wardrobe additions for Geralt, even as the reverse arrangement is embraced across the industry. Tost’s explanation centers on the studio’s philosophy that owning a game should guarantee the complete experience regardless of where a consumer chooses to buy it. The developer remains open to revising this stance, though, signaling that the conversation is far from settled.
A Philosophy Built on Platform Parity
Tost was candid about the studio’s historical approach, admitting that the crossover question had not been a priority for the team. “We haven’t really thought about this yet,” he said, framing the absence of Diablo content in The Witcher as a byproduct of deliberate design choices rather than oversight. According to Tost, CD Projekt Red has traditionally favored physical bonuses as platform-exclusive rewards instead of digital content locked to a particular store.
“One thing we really value is to not have content that is purely exclusive depending on where you buy,” he said. “Usually, when we need to do something exclusive for [partners], what we’ve done in the past are things like an exclusive physical hoodie. I can recall we did this for Xbox. Xbox pre-orders for The Witcher 3 got an exclusive set of cards. For us, it’s really important to preserve that, if you buy the game and play it, you always get the full version of it.”
Miles Tost, Level Design Lead at CD Projekt Red
This principle reflects a broader studio identity that prioritizes accessibility and consistency for its player base. The stance also aligns with statements made earlier by the company’s CEO regarding The Witcher 4’s planned physical release in a disc-less 2028, reinforcing a consistent thread of thought about how the studio handles both digital and physical editions of its properties.
Why Diablo Gets Geralt, But Geralt Doesn’t Get Diablo
The asymmetry between the two franchises comes down to a simple matter of storefront flexibility. CD Projekt Red is entirely comfortable with a Geralt skin appearing in Diablo 4 as a platform-exclusive item, since that content lives within a game the studio did not create and can freely distribute. The situation flips entirely when it comes to the reverse arrangement. Tost explained that the studio would not want to lock Diablo-themed content to a single storefront where The Witcher 3 Remastered is available, as doing so would compromise the very parity the company champions.
For now, the pattern appears clear: players should expect The Witcher and Cyberpunk to keep surfacing as guest appearances in titles like Diablo 4, Fortnite, and Overwatch, rather than the other way around. Yet Tost stopped short of dismissing the concept outright, emphasizing that the studio’s approach is not rigidly fixed.
“It’s not that we are of a mindset where we’ll do one thing and then never do another,” Tost concluded. “Honestly, we’ll listen to what feedback we’ll get from these [BlizzCon announcements], how the responses are, and then we’ll see about this with an open mind.”
Miles Tost, Level Design Lead at CD Projekt Red
The developer’s willingness to reconsider its position in light of community response suggests that future collaborations could take unexpected forms, particularly if player demand grows for crossover content within CD Projekt Red’s own titles.
Looking Ahead
As BlizzCon’s announcements continue to ripple through the gaming community, the immediate outlook remains focused on the franchises CD Projekt Red has already committed to sharing. The confirmed Geralt-inspired Barbarian skin for Diablo 4 and the upcoming Cyberpunk: Edgerunners outfits represent the next wave of cross-title content, with the studio maintaining its role as the generous collaborator rather than the recipient. Whether CD Projekt Red will eventually reverse this dynamic depends on how the industry and its players respond to these partnerships over time.
For now, the message from Tost is clear: the studio values its players’ complete experience above all, and any shift toward in-game crossovers would require a fundamental rethinking of that principle. Until then, fans can look forward to more Witcher and Cyberpunk characters making appearances across the wider gaming landscape, while the studio continues to refine its approach with an open mind.
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