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Recent retail listings for first Witcher on consoles a 'mistake'
The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf was never coming to consoles this year, according to Adam Badowski, managing director at developer CD Projekt Red. Back in May, retail listings for the game, popularly believed to be deceased, popped up on a Danish retail site and Blockbuster.dk."It's not true; that's a mistake. It's not even rumor, it's a mistake," Badowski told us at Gamescom. Asked if the console version was, in fact, cancelled three years ago he definitively exclaimed, "Yes! You never know, but we are busy and have two different games."Those two different games are one unannounced project and Cyberpunk. CD Projekt Red announced modding tools for The Witcher 2 at the show this week.
Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf spotted on retail sites for Xbox, PS3
Over three years since its initial cancellation, it looks like The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf may be rising again. The game has been spotted in Danish retail listings, specifically a PS3 listing at CoolShop and both PS3 and Xbox listings at Blockbuster. Neither site has a release date listed, though each advises eager fans to place pre-orders now. (If you're looking for a deal, go with CoolShop to save a cool 100 krone.)Witcher fans will remember Rise of the White Wolf as the console-specific version of CD Projekt's first Witcher game. It was slated to feature completely reworked controls for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though the project was canceled in April of 2009. At the time, developer Widescreen Games complained of missed payments, while publisher CD Projekt claimed that all milestone payments had been made to Widescreen.CD Projekt Red's Summer Conference is slated to take place tomorrow, and promises a major announcement. That announcement, however, will not be Rise of the White Wolf, reports Eurogamer. CD Projekt told the site that it will instead be announcing its next RPG, which was revealed in recent job listings. That said, the company does have some Witcher-related "surprises" planned for this year and next year.
Ding-dong, the console Witcher is dead (for now)
After rumors began circulating that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of The Witcher had been canceled, Shacknews reports that development on the game has been suspended due to "financial issues." Specifically, co-developer Widescreen Games alleges that CD Projekt failed to make a large payment to the company. This comes by way of Widescreen Games director Olivier Masclef, who stated, "After having committed to the project but not being covered financially on it for three months, I [had] no choice." CD Projekt's joint CEO Michal Kicinski, meanwhile, states that all payments were made according to the game's milestone plan and that the late payments were the result of Widescreen missing its deadlines. Kicinski adds that the decision to put development on hold was "extremely difficult" and that the company is searching for a solution. He concludes, "So no matter what the final decision or solution we will find, please be sure that it will be the best for the game quality, and satisfaction of gamers, which is the most important for us!" Whatever the real story is, the end result is that The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf is currently dead in the water.
The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf dogged by rumors of cancellation
Announced back in December 2008, The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf was billed by developer CD Projekt RED as "the ultimate console RPG." The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 reworking of the well-received PC game offered to enhance graphics, streamline controls and implement a different combat system, all while retaining the story and exploits of the titular protagonist as he wooed women, fought monsters and straddled the line between nouns and comparative adjectives. While all that remains unchanged, the game's current status has been brought into question by Polish site Polygamia, whose sources indicate that the game has been quietly cancelled. When contacted by Joystiq, CD Projekt representative Tom Ohle was unable to confirm Rise of the White Wolf's current status, but noted that any change in development would be announced via official channels. A spokesperson for Atari, which is set to publish the title this Fall, was similarly circumspect and unable to comment on the game's current condition. If Rise of the White Wolf has been canceled, it appears that conclusive word of its demise hasn't quite left the developer's home base of Poland yet. The fact that nobody is able to check the pulse in the meantime is certainly worrisome.
Witcher trailer: Nothin' but CG
After announcing yesterday that The Witcher is headed to consoles with the new subtitle Rise of the White Wolf, the first official trailer has been released (embedded after the break). Don't get to excited though, as there is nary a frame of gameplay to be seen. What we do get to see is a very impressive CG movie of the Witcher himself performing some balletic moves with his sword and slaying a few monsters (are those Necrotaurs?). It's all very Crouching Tiger. We have to admit the video has us intrigued. Now we just need some gameplay.
The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf headed to Xbox 360
Developer CD Projekt has informed Joystiq that a console version of its action-RPG The Witcher is currently in development for the Xbox 360. The console version -- now subtitled Rise of the White Wolf -- will feature reworked and streamlined controls, while the games story elements are apparently unchanged. The game will use a new engine, which will include new character models, animations, and a more dynamic combat system. The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf is scheduled to arrive in Fall 2009.For those unfamiliar with the game, it was generally well received by critics when it was released last year. See a video detailing the console version after the break.
The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf coming to Xbox 360, PS3
We've been playing the excellent action-RPG The Witcher recently, and though we've been enjoying ourselves, the experience has been missing one thing: A constant stream of invites to play Left 4 Dead. It seems developer CD Projekt is sensitive to our concerns, as it has just revealed that The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3.The game's controls have been completely rethought and streamlined for the controller, though the story elements appear to be the same as in the PC version. You should be able to try it all for yourself in the Fall of 2009. We'll let you know more as we hear it.
