The Witcher 3 Is Hiding One Brilliant Secret Area You Definitely Missed

2 hours ago 11

Published Jan 26, 2026, 10:00 PM EST

Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.

As if there weren’t endless secrets to discover in-bounds in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, there is one remarkable secret that The Witcher 3’s quest designer hid far beyond where casual players could ever hope to find it. This secret isn’t pertinent to Witcher lore, but it is perhaps much more special: a picture of CD Projekt Red’s Witcher 3 development team.

Per Paweł Sasko—currently the associate game director on Cyberpunk 2—on Twitter/X, The Witcher 3’s well-hidden but deliberately placed secret awaits players. Paweł Sasko details how this secret came to be, and points out roughly where players ought to locate it, assuming they have the means or the urge to roam past The Witcher 3’s playable space.

According to Paweł Sasko, The Witcher 3’s quest designer, Danisz Markiewicz, beckoned him over, freed the camera, and flew over to a mountain in the distance to show him that he had put this portrait there: “We giggle and I approve it.” Paweł Sasko also takes a moment while discussing this secret’s whereabouts and revelation to commend Danisz Markiewicz:

“He has become Senior Quest Designer on Cyberpunk 2077, and one of the Experts currently building The Witcher 4.

Very gifted, remarkable combination of intuition and worth ethic, with deep understanding of technology and design.”

Paweł Sasko then goes on to explain that, because Danisz Markiewicz is a modder, he anticipated players finding this hidden portrait if they explored out-of-bounds, specifically the “tallest mountain” nearby, and “wanted to reward that curiosity in a playful way.” This is similar to how there was a portrait of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development team tucked away in Sandfall’s game, though it is easily discoverable and not out-of-bounds like this Witcher 3 picture.

The picture itself was taken at an annual summer picnic when the team had shipped the game. This is a lovely secret, especially as it’s one that rewards players for searching literally every nook and cranny that they can in an open-world fantasy action-RPG that is already teeming with content and real estate.

Bring On The Third Expansion!

Danisz Markiewicz’s wholesome secret was revealed to Paweł Sasko in 2016, when the team was finishing production on The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine DLC expansion. It’s hard not to see a correlation here between the timing of this secret’s public reveal, which many players may have seen themselves by now, and the rumors stirring of a new Witcher 3 expansion.

Indeed, if a third expansion-sized DLC truly is being developed and is scheduled to be released soon, it would be incredible if there are more secrets like this development team picture for players to find.

In any case, a third Witcher 3 expansion would be fantastic, particularly if it manages to help bridge The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to the events of The Witcher 4’s story. Meanwhile, the cat is out of the bag, and this adorable secret has been shared with anyone who might’ve missed it.