A designer on The Witcher 3 said CD Projekt Red struggled to persuade players that the game’s apparently living world was supported by genuine NPC simulation rather than staged effects. The comments highlight how players increasingly scrutinise the technical systems behind open-world games, making believable background behaviour both a design goal and a source of intense attention.

According to the designer, public interest in small details such as NPC routines eventually “came to haunt” the development team, as players expected the simulation to stand up to close inspection. The Witcher 3 is widely recognised for its densely populated world and characters with daily activities, but the remarks suggest that creating and communicating such systems was not straightforward.