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Witcher 2 senior producer Tomek Gop leaves CD Projekt Red [update]
As CD Projekt Red crams The Witcher 2 onto the Xbox 360, it does so without senior producer Tomek Gop. The developer's LinkedIn profile indicates that he left CD Projekt Red sometime in June, after being at the company since March 2006. His time there included stints as a producer on The Witcher 2 and the RED Engine, and as a "production coordinator" on the first Witcher. GOG PR manager Lukasz Kukawski told VG247 that Gop had apparently left not only CD Projekt Red, but the game industry in general, though no information was provided about his future plans. Update: CD Projekt confirmed Gop's departure in a statement to Joystiq, also including a note from Gop saying that his reasons for leaving were "mainly personal." And as for leaving the game industry, Gop said "though possible, I wouldn't bet on it. It's addictive..." Also, Lukasz Kukawski is the PR manager for Good Old Games, not CDP. We've corrected that reference.
The Witcher 2 patch trims sprawling saves (and Geralt's hair)
You'd think the witcher would have a potion to eradicate unruly hair, but apparently even he needs to consult the barber from time to time. CD Projekt has bundled the free "Barbers and Coiffeuses" DLC with the latest Witcher 2 patch (version 1.2), allowing Geralt to alter his hairstyle "for a small fee" in each chapter. And knowing his knack for crafting, he'll probably put the hair trimmings to good use in making a foul-smelling elixir. In addition to injecting all previously released DLC, the new patch also addresses the issue of a sprawling save directory. Save files are now compressed, and an in-game option to delete them has been added. According to the patch notes, controller analogue sticks should also be responsive in menus again (especially helpful in the radial combat menu), the prologue battle should be more balanced, and The Witcher 1 saves should import correctly. CD Projekt has stated that all corrections will carry over to the upcoming Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
The Witcher 2 casting spells on Xbox 360 by the end of 2011
During its "Summer Days" presentation in Los Angeles this afternoon, developer CD Projekt Red announced intentions to release critically acclaimed The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 by the end of 2011. The confirmation comes after months of back-and-forth over the possibility of a console release, and hot off the bewitched heels of an ESRB rating for the game on Xbox 360. Little is known about how exactly the title's gameplay, not to mention its impressive graphics engine, will translate to 360, but we're sure to find out more in the coming weeks. We'll keep an eye ... er ... ear on the streaming press conference as well and update this story as it develops. Update: During the stage presentation, CD Projekt Red representatives pointed out that the Xbox 360 version will include all PC updates that have taken place since the game's launch. A teaser was also shown off (which we'll have for you soon), though no gameplay has been revealed as of yet -- it'll be shown off during E3. The reps also pointed out that the 360 version will look close or on par with the PC version, and also called it an "adaptation, not a port." Update 2: The teaser is now live after the break!
The Witcher 2 review: Taught with peril
Describing the opening moments of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings as a "trial by fire" is almost too trite to bear, but don't tell me it isn't accurate. As the dragon swoops overhead and incinerates you yet again, you'll understand that the game's method of delivering a tutorial, which is to whisper it to you in passing, has failed. Your repeated, humiliating immolation isn't even enough to summon a helpful tip. When one of the characters asks the witcher how one handles such a beast, he responds, "You don't. You run!" That's the advice from Geralt, professional monster hunter.
President Obama gifted The Witcher 2 from Polish Prime Minister
During his tour of Europe, President Obama visited Poland and received a somewhat unusual gift from that country's Prime Minister: A copy of Warsaw-based CD Projekt's latest title, the excellent Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Sure, he also got an iPad loaded with Polish movies and some translated novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of The Witcher, but knowing the President's fondness for interactive witchering, it seems clear to us what the most notable gift was. There's only one problem ... everyone knows President Obama uses a Mac. [Update: CD Projekt, fulfilling its role as proud papa, issued a press release dedicated to the gift. "This is an extraordinary acknowledgement of our hard work here at CD Projekt RED," game director Adam Badowski said. "The Witcher 2 is a game we created for players around the world by drawing from various sources including our national heritage. We are truly pleased to promote our culture in this manner. And we aren't resting on our laurels. We are continuing to improve the game post-release, and will reveal more during our conference on June 2nd." You can find the full press release after the break.]
PSA: The Witcher 2 requires an NTFS-formatted HDD
If you're planning to spend the weekend with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings -- in lieu of bracing for the impending hellfire, of course -- make sure you've got enough space on an NTFS-formatted hard drive to do it. Though the game's PC system requirements note you'll need "16GB of disc space," they don't mention you'll need that space to be on an NTFS drive. One Joystiq reader found out the hard way, telling us, "My only hard drive with any storage space left on it is FAT32, and has resisted attempts to reformat. I discovered this hidden system requirement after buying The Witcher 2, downloading it, and attempting to install it this morning." CD Projekt confirmed the situation to us this morning. Community manager Andrzej Kwiatkowski said, "Yes, we can confirm that The Witcher 2 on Windows systems only works on NTFS-formatted drives." Kwiatkowski further explained that the design is due to the limitations of the older FAT32 system. "FAT32 can't handle any file bigger than 4GB, and one of TW2's files has the size of 9GB." [Thanks, John]
The Witcher 2 shows the reality of the Assassin's Creed swan dive
Who would have thought that one of the most educational games of the year would be CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 2? It's got a thing or two to teach us all about the (awesome) perils of Ezio's trademark maneuver in Assassin's Creed 2: The Leap of Faith. Check out said lesson in the video below!
The Witcher 2 trailer details the four kings and kingdoms
The world of The Witcher 2 is a politically tumultuous place, pockmarked by warring kingdoms, corrupt kings and -- judging by the game's subtitle -- a handful of king-assassins. Check out the trailer after the jump for a rundown of the game's four major monarchs.
All Witcher 2 DLC to be free, including launch day 'Troll Trouble' quest
Though we're sure CD Projekt has a nice, beefy amount of adventure in store for players picking up this week's The Witcher 2, a recent Q&A hosted on GameStop's Facebook page has got us hopeful for the title's longevity. In response to a fan's question about planned DLC, a CD Projekt spokesperson wrote, "Let me announce that all our DLCs will be FREE. All of them. If anything will be for purchase, those will be expansion packs." The distinction between DLC and expansion packs is awfully fuzzy, but this policy doesn't sound like just talk. CD Projekt added that the game's first DLC side-quest, "Troll Trouble," will arrive as part of the title's launch tomorrow, and will cost you zero dollars. That's our very favorite amount of dollars to pay for things.
Joyswag: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition codes
We've already gone over the purpose and proclivities of The Witcher: He hunts and exterminates beasts that don't belong in this world, imbibes body-altering mutagens, and perpetually responds to the world with a determined grimace. It's a pretty cool job. Witcher watchers are likely aware that the grizzled warrior-monk, Geralt of Rivia, is set to return tomorrow in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. We've got three copies to give away, courtesy of GOG. The game is already available for pre-purchase on the retro service, and while it's not exactly fitting with those old PC games, it does come without DRM. (Copies bought elsewhere will require a one-time online activation via Securom.) We're also giving away ten GOG download codes for The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, the revamped RPG that kicked off Geralt's gareer -- uh, career. Read the instructions below the break, leave a comment, and you're in.
Australians might want to pick up Witcher 2 on GOG
In a fairly cheeky response to the Australian ratings board's censorship of CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, digital distributor GOG has updated its privacy policy to allow users to decide their own location when making purchases, rather than having their location tracked by IP. Shoppers living in Australia can sidestep the censorship (as well as the bizarre price hike to $69.99 AUS that came about due to "licensing issues") by setting their country of origin as ... well, just about anywhere else. In a sly press release announcing the privacy policy change (posted after the jump), GOG Managing Director Guillaume Rambourg said the site "has always been about trusting the user," explaining, "We've come to the conclusion that there are a number of issues with using a customer's IP address to determine what offer they are being presented with from GOG.com." Well, to be fair, we'd consider "paying more money for a censored game" to be a fairly troubling issue.
The Witcher 2 takes a stab at combat in latest dev walkthrough
It's very likely that your "people jumping around stabbing dudes" limit for today is well below what you expected and, frankly, that's a bunch of hogswallop. Let's fix that with a healthy dose of jumping stabs, courtesy of The Witcher 2.
April Fools: CD Projekt Red reveals The Bard: Saviors of Queens
Sorry guys, we just don't get it. Maybe if we were more familiar with the Witcher franchise, we'd be able to wrap our minds around CD Projekt's April Fools' Day goof. It's created a fake game titled The Bard: Saviors of Queens, a trailer and dev diary for which are posted below. It's about a guy who kills dragons and bandits while bedding as many women as humanly possible. Here's our problem: Isn't that also what The Witcher is all about? It's been a while since we played it -- there's a very real chance that we're confusing it with CD Projekt's earliest title, The Lusty Swordhand. Still, on the April Fools outrageous-o-meter, this one falls on the "potentially could become a real thing" side of the spectrum.
The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition to have no DRM from GoG.com
GoG.com has announced that its version of The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings Digital Premium Edition will be the only version to ship without any sort of digital rights management. In a press release, managing director Guillaume Rambourg noted that, "DRM is not an effective way to combat piracy," adding that user experience has always been his company's "main concern." Of course, it's also worth noting that developer CD Projekt owns GoG.com, so it's understandable its version would receive a few perks. If your main concern is to play The Witcher 2 without jumping through extra hoops, it looks like GoG.com is the way to go.
The Witcher 2 screens show the bright(er) side of war
Look, we abhor violence, but you've got to admit these shots of a burning field and the ensuing conflict between two forces in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings look quite nice. We'd never condone violence but, in this setting, we'd certainly stop and stare for a few.
CD Projekt fighting Witcher 2 piracy with threat of fine
CD Projekt is worried about piracy -- specifically, as it concerns the developer's upcoming, adult-oriented RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings -- and understandably so. As a single-player-only PC title, The Witcher 2 is awfully ripe for pirating. However, the Polish developer is hoping to counteract these illicit acquisitions by more doggedly pursuing those who play the game illegally. CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński recently told Eurogamer that "we are signing with legal firms and torrent sneaking companies" to hunt down gamers who download The Witcher 2 unlawfully. Such offenders will be sent a letter demanding they pay a fine -- the sum of which was left unspecified, though it will be more than the game's suggested retail price. Though it sounds a bit like the RIAA's anti-piracy scare tactics, Iwiński said, "We don't want to be so harsh, but there is a chance that this might happen to some people if they download illegally." Or, in other words, don't make CD Projekt use its angry voice, because it's going to hurt them a lot more than it's going to hurt you.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings strikes on May 17, collector's edition revealed
In a late night missive from Polish publisher CD Projekt, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was given a solid release date: May 17, 2011. Project lead Adam Badowski admitted that the launch had been moved back "a few weeks" to allow the PC action-RPG more development time. "We've decided to the move the launch date back a few weeks to afford us more time to polish the game," he said. CD Projekt also teased "hot news" to be served up during the publisher's autumn conference on November 18, including details of the game's Collector's Edition, pre-order specifics, and more. If you can't make it to the conference in person -- it's in Warsaw, Poland, after all -- it'll be streaming live on both the official Witcher 2 website and the game's Facebook page starting at 12:30PM EST sharp on November 18. In the meantime, GameStop appears to have already launched the game's collector's edition listing, showing a $130 price tag and ... umm ... like, a ton of stuff (listed after the break). It's a good thing you have about half a year to save up all that dough!
The Witcher 2 will have 16 different endings
Did you know that The Witcher had three different endings? Seems like par for the course, right? Well, things are getting downright insane in The Witcher 2, which Eurogamer reports will have 16 different attainable outcomes. Here's some other interesting improvements, courtesy of that snazzy new multi-platform engine: There will be 256 cutscenes (totaling 150 minutes) in The Witcher 2, whereas the first game only had 130 cutscenes (totaling 53 minutes) The Witcher 2 will have 30 different armor types to choose from, compared to the five available in the first game You'll only need to suffer through four load screens in the sequel, while the first game forced players to wait during approximately 700 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is slated to launch sometime in 2011.
The Witcher 2 still planned for consoles, CD Projekt says
Console gamers anxious to traverse CD Projekt's fictional land in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, fear not. Confirming console plans on Facebook, CD Projekt assures us porting the game is still very much on the table. "There are some rumors about us leaving The Witcher-2-on-consoles idea," the Facebook post reads. "That's pretty weird, as we want and plan to release the game on consoles & nothing has changed in this matter. We're still sure, that Geralt & company has something to offer both - PC & console players." Of course, CD Projekt always planned to offer the first game on consoles, though that dream eventually died. Hopefully the sequel doesn't encounter the same bumps on its road to the console kingdom. [Via Eurogamer]
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings officially unveiled in debut trailer
Here we are, just three short days away from the inaugural PAX on the East Coast, and CD Projekt has gone right ahead and confirmed the sequel to the hack-n-slash RPG The Witcher via the first official trailer, posted on GameTrailers. As suggested last September, the new trailer reveals that The Witcher 2 will be subtitled "Assassins of Kings," though a publisher and proposed release date have yet to be confirmed. [Update: Atari will publish the game in North America for PC.] Additionally, no mention of projected release platforms is made in the trailer, and GameTrailers only lists "PC," seemingly refuting earlier claims that The Witcher 2 could arrive on consoles. Check out the full two-minute reveal after the break.
