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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt pushed back to February 2015

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CD Projekt RED, the developers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, regret to inform you that you’re going to have to wait a little longer than originally expected to get your hands on its open-world RPG. After originally announcing a vague 2014 release for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the developer confirmed that the game won’t be ready until February 2014.

“Dear gamers – we know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even,” The Board of CD Projekt RED said in an open letter to fans and shareholders. “We’re sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment.”

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Delays can be annoying, but since this game never had a firm release day – or even a release quarter – the announcement shouldn’t be seen as anything than what it is: a bit more time for the devs to apply polish. Delays happen all the time, and this one is no different. But while fans should not see this as anything more than a minor inconvenience to their gaming plans, the shareholders of CD Projekt RED might.

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“Dear shareholders – we are aware of the responsibility that rests with us and thank you for the trust you have granted us thus far,” the letter continued. “We firmly believe that quality – more than any other factor – determines a game’s success, and that the decision we have made is thus equally valid in business terms.”

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been in some form of development for years now, and was originally teased as far back as January 2013. Within a few weeks, the tease morphed into an official reveal for the PC, and a few weeks after that when the PlayStation 4 was unveiled, it was also confirmed as a next-gen console game for the PS4 and “other high-end consoles” (i.e. the as-yet-unannounced Xbox One). Taking that into account, a two-year gap between announcement and release is a bit longer than normal, but not all that unusual.

Wild Hunt will mark the third, and final Witcher game. The game’s story is loosely based on the Polish fantasy novels of the same name, which consist of six books (and a handful of short stories), all of which follow the character of Geralt of Rivia. The character is a monster hunter, bestowed with magical abilities that are enhanced by a lifetime of brutal training. Wild Hunt continues the story of Geralt, and is shaping up to be an ambitious endeavor, with CD Projekt Red claiming the game is “30 times bigger than [the world of] The Witcher 2.” 

Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
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God of War Ragnarok shares a key strength with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Hafgufa flies away in God of War Ragnarok.

God of War Ragnarok’s main story is memorable, but some of the smaller moments are what have stuck with me most since completing it. I'm not just talking about its moments of quiet, but its optional Favors as well. These sidequests can be entirely ignored, but skipping them is a mistake as they contain some of the game’s best scenes. It's a trait that God of War Ragnarok shares with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, one of the best RPGs of the last decade.
In some large RPGs, sidequests can often boil down to boring fetch quests, or they simply may not have as much polish put into their writing. As a result, they can feel like content bloat that does more harm than good to the game’s pacing. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and God of War Ragnarok avoid this problem by elevating these sidequests, making the entire adventure feel more cohesive and ensuring that the small moments stick out as some of the best.
More than a side thing
Like God of War Ragnarok, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a lengthy main story full of memorable characters, set pieces, and boss fights. While those alone would have made it a strong RPG, it’s remembered as an all-time great because of how rich its world is, something that's reflected in its side content. There were quests like Ghosts of Past, which pays off the character arc of Witcher 2 character Letho, but it's entirely possible to finish the game without ever seeing it.

Others, like Return to Crookback Bog, turn what could just be some fun supernatural fights into a chilling tale about abuse and broken families. While The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s main narrative is strong, these side moments are what make it a game that sticks with you years after release. I can already tell the same will be true of God of War Ragnarok, as some of my favorite missions in the game are entirely optional Favors.
An early game Favor called The Weight of Chains sees Kratos, Mimir, and Atreus freeing a giant Lyngbakr sea creature that Mimir imprisoned while working with Odin. They manage to break its chains, but find that it now struggles to move and do what it used to. This sidequest takes a series of somewhat standard combat encounters and puzzles and spins them into critical aspects of a memorable tale. The Weight of Chains reflects on how Kratos and Mimir’s reckless actions have had irreversible consequences, but they now have an opportunity to be better people in the future.
Another standout Favor called Secret of the Sands, where Kratos and Atreus free a trapped jellyfish-like creature called a Hafgufa, is also quite beautiful. The short story shows what Kratos will do to be able to spend more time with his son in the face of Ragnarok. However ordinary these sidequests may be from a gameplay standpoint, their narrative relevance and level of polish are on par with some of God of War Ragnarok’s main quests. This high effort even applies to some side missions that wholly exist with NPCs in the game’s overworld, ones that aren't even built around huge set pieces. For example, there’s The Lost Treasure quest.

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As promised, CD Projekt Red will release the current-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- Complete Edition this year, on December 14. This update will go live across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and is free to anyone who already owns the game on previous-gen.

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CD Projekt Red has announced a remake of the first game in The Witcher series from the ground up, built using Unreal Engine 5. Polish studio Fool's Theory will be developing the game and there are veterans of the franchise involved in its production. CD Projekt Red is providing full creative supervision for the game.

“The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD Projekt Red. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger,” says studio head Adam Badowski in a statement. “Collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the project is just as exciting, as some of the people there have been previously involved in The Witcher games. They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games. And although it will take some time before we’re ready to share more about and from the game, I know it’ll be worth the wait.”

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