CD Projekt Red reveals NPC glitches during The Witcher 3 development

During the early development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red encountered unexpected technical issues while attempting to create highly realistic non-player character (NPC) behaviors. Quest designer Philipp Weber noted that the studio prioritized simulating realistic day and night cycles to make rural villages feel lived-in rather than just decorative.

However, this focus on daily routines meant that NPC reactions to player actions were initially less detailed. This led to a recurring glitch where female NPCs would drop their babies whenever they entered a state of panic, such as when a player brandished a sword in a peaceful village. Weber remarked that for several weeks, women would simply drop their babies ‘left and right’ due to the system's inability to distinguish between different types of danger.