The Witcher 4‘s tech demo gameplay was revealed in the 2025 State of Unreal livestream, and on top of giving us a look at the gorgeous graphics and animations, we’ve finally had the setting revealed.
At the very end of the gameplay showcase, they said, “Here’s a small gift for all Witcher fans: a first look at Lan Exeter,” revealing the game’s setting before showing off the mountainous city with its bridges, waterways, and snowcapped spires.
That’s right, The Witcher 4 takes us somewhere the games have never gone before – Kovir and Poviss.
Where is Kovir in The Witcher 4?
Kovir and Poviss, often just called Kovir, is the northernmost region of The Continent, with the Dragon Mountains to the north, the sea to the south, Redania to the southwest, and Creyden to the west.
It’s almost directly in line with Kaer Morhen, just more to the west, so you’ll see a similar landscape with dense forests and snowy mountains. But, with much of Kovir on the coast, we also expect beaches and seaside cliffs.
Its two main cities are Lan Exeter (which we’ve now seen) and Pont Vanis, which we’ll more than likely visit as well. But of course, there will be tons of towns, villages, and hamlets dotted around that Ciri can visit.
Lan Exeter explained
Lan Exeter is described in the Tower of the Swallow, the fourth book in the saga, when Dijkstra visits:
“Lan Exeter, Kovir’s winter capital, differed fundamentally from the world’s other capital cities. In the harbour of Lan Exeter, travellers arriving by sea disembarked onto the stone quay only to immediately embark onto another craft; a slender many-oared boat with a highly upturned prow and slightly lower stern. Lan Exeter was built on the water, in the wide estuary of the River Targo. The city had canals instead of streets – and all municipal transportation was by boat.”
It’s a lot like a wintry version of Venice, with its canals that have to be navigated by boat. One main canal runs up the middle of the city, as described in the book: “The Great Canal, leading from the harbour straight to the royal residence, was the main artery and axis of the metropolis.”
It’s an extremely rich port city, with the mansions and finely adorned townhouses displaying its wealth.
“They travelled between avenues of magnificent aristocratic residences and merchants’ townhouses, reflecting in the canal’s water a spectrum of splendidly embellished, but exceptionally narrow, façades. In Lan Exeter tax was paid on a house’s frontage; the wider the frontage, the higher the tax.”
Pont Vanis, described as “the summer capital of Kovir,” should feel very different to Lan Exeter.
But how much of Kovir and Poviss we’ll get to see remains to be seen, and there’s also a chance we’ll see other regions like how The Witcher 3 included White Orchard in Temeria, Velen, Novigrad, Skellige, and Toussaint in the Blood and Wine DLC.
Ecco una tech demo di The Witcher 4, come prova di forza dell'Unreal Engine 5