the witcher

Gwent is a tabletop card game that will be both incorporated into The Witcher 3 gameplay and available as a physical game, included in the collector's edition bundle.

Gwent is a fast-paced card game that can be played within The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on every platform. Invented by dwarves and perfected over centuries of tavern table play, Gwent is a game of initial simplicity and ultimate depth, something beloved by both road-weary travelers during long nights around the campfire and elegant nobles looking to liven up dragging dinner parties. The game is about the clash of two armies locked in mortal struggle on a battlefield where the players are the leaders and the cards their forces. With four different factions offering unique combat styles and endless paths to victory, Gwent is every adventurer's first choice when it comes to one-on-one card-based dueling. Take risks and think on your feet, strategize and deliver cunning combos, use potent magic and mighty hero cards and be the last one standing on the field of honor!

Beware of drowners!

The Witcher 3 has been delayed by 12 weeks, moving its release date to May 19, 2015.

CD Projekt Red released an open letter explaining the situation:

Dear Gamers,

Ever since we started working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we knew it would be an ambitious game. We wanted, and still aim, to give you an incredible experience, an epic adventure in a vast, completely open fantasy universe.

The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio's history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly.

With this in mind, we took another look at current workloads and what they mean for the team. Even though everyone is working at full speed, we concluded that we need another 12 weeks, so we are shifting the release date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to May 19th, 2015.

We owe you an apology. We set the release date too hastily. It's a hard lesson, one to take to heart for the future. We know what we want to do to make Wild Hunt one of the best RPGs you will ever play. And we continue to work hard to achieve just that. So, we apologize and ask for your trust.

Thank you for the all support you show us on a daily basis. We truly do appreciate it. It has fueled us in our passion since the start and will continue to do so.

The Board of CD PROJEKT SA

Well, there go my plans for February. In the meantime, watch a new trailer above to make that wait all the harder.

In an open letter on the Witcher website, co-founder and Joint CEO of CD PROJEKT RED Marcin Iwiński lays it all out (TL;DR? Paid DLC sucks, have some free DLC):

We love games. We love collecting them, playing them, and everything connected to that experience. Every time we reach out for a new release, we expect to be taken care of. We expect support if we encounter any problems, we love updates constantly improving the experience, and we feel really special when we receive free content that gives us more than we initially paid for. It doesn't have to be huge, it can be an awesome skin for a character, or an extra sword, or armor.

Unfortunately this treatment is quite rare these days. As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached. Haven't we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?

As CD PROJEKT RED, we strongly believe this is not the way it should work and, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we have decided to do it differently. Cutting to the chase, everyone who buys Wild Hunt will receive 16 specially prepared DLCs absolutely for free, regardless of platform. You don't have to pre-order, you don't have to buy any special edition to get them -- if you own a copy of Wild Hunt, they're yours. This is our way of saying thank you for buying our game.

Regards, Marcin

(Emphasis added)

The DLC will be distributed in packs of two every week starting on February 25th. The first two packs will include a Temerian Armor Set (with horse armor!) and a Beard and Hairstyle Set for Geralt, then a new look for Yennefer and a new contract mission.

Before anyone asks, yes, I will feature the other one tomorrow.

I guess we'll find out at NYCC2013