The Witcher is an incredibly successful franchise, spreading across books, TV, animated movies, and games. Throughout these many incarnations, Geralt of Rivia remains identifiable because of his gruff personality, dedication to protecting his foster daughter Ciri, brutal fighting prowess, and, of course, his iconic white hair and yellow eyes. However, one player encountered an odd bug in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that gave Geralt black hair instead.
This isn't the only glitch players have encountered in The Witcher 3, but it may be one of the most noticeable despite not impacting gameplay that much. Redditor alion23 shared a short video of Geralt standing in an icy cave, his hair worn short and inexplicably pitch black.
Much of Geralt's slightly uncanny visual design relies on his white hair to unify it. As many fans noted in the comments, turning his hair black gives an entirely different feel to the character. One fan described him as looking about a decade younger than he usually does, while another fan argued that it would be closer to a century considering Witcher lifespans. However, considering that Witcher protagonist Geralt is about a century old at the beginning of the series, that fan may have overestimated Witcher lifespans slightly.
According to alion23, the game loaded with Geralt's hair black, but the color went back to normal after they left the cave. Several posters noted that black-haired Geralt bears a resemblance to Corvo Attano, the first protagonist of the Dishonored series, and began joking that Corvo was babysitting Ciri while Geralt was on break. Others opted to discuss Geralt's shorter hairstyle rather than his hair color, as The Witcher 3 offers a degree of hair customization the first Witcher game did not. Alion23 also got involved, commenting about how much The Witcher 3's hair physics continue to hold up years after its original release.
As of this writing, it appears that fans are more amused and impressed by the bug than anything else. Several posters observed that black hair suits Geralt, with one even stating they would make this character in The Witcher 4 if that game allows character customization. One user immediately replied with a joking apology that black hair is currently bugged in The Witcher 4, despite the game having not even been confirmed yet. Another user questioned what Geralt's natural hair color actually is, since his white hair comes from the alchemical treatments that make a Witcher.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.