In a recent interview with Kotaku, CD Projekt Red co-founder and CEO Marcin Iwinski discussed the company’s vision for downloadable content for the developer’s upcoming mega release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Iwinski’s words are very encouraging, and they make me excited to see what Red has in store for the further adventures of Geralt of Rivia.
I really like the idea of DLC for triple A console games in theory, but I am often let down in the execution aspect. I love the idea of extended gameplay and storyline chapters; but in the Arkham games, I still would have preferred more than the approximately 90 minutes to two additional hours of play. I love Dead Space 3, and Awakened has its good points. However, Awakened also felt like a gigantic kick in the pills after all I had been through with previous installments and Dead Space 3. Ubisoft did a great job with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, a work of pure genius. I wish more developers would think outside the box with DLC releases like Blood Dragon.
Iwinski promises some “cool stuff” with DLC for Witcher 3, but he also considers the purchase of DLC as a long-term agreement between fans and the developer. In addition, his stance on the term DLC becoming “devalued” was absolutely refreshing. Another thing that is devalued concerns the release of incomplete game experiences and packaging DLC as an additional fix. Take a look at Mass Effect 3. Electronic Arts and BioWare basically released an unfinished project before releasing Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut as a way to placate enraged fans.
According to Iwinski, CD Projekt Red will only charge players for larger, big adventures over 15 or 20 hours in length. This is a great prospect, considering The Witcher 3 already has over about 100 hours of core gameplay time. Additional adventures to flesh out the vast world and characters of this franchise sounds fantastic, and it will not be a dinky, little 90-minute story chapter for $10.
The downside of this, however, is that I am now tempted to hold off on buying the game at launch. Surely some type of Game of the Year Edition, which includes all the DLC and extra content, will be released somewhere down the pike, likely with a better price. Then the main conflict will be my willpower and whether I can wait out the time frame of the release.
Either way, I hope this philosophy toward DLC is carried over to CD Projekt Red’s next big game release, Cyberpunk 2077, where it looks like the DLC possibilities could be literally endless. CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt hits the shelves on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 24, 2015.
Good ole CD project red! But please do not wait. If a company does something right you should show them you like what they do with your wallet.
Agreed. Especially considering CDPR stance on DRM combined with all of the free content they give out post-release. I already pre-ordered my Collector’s Edition.First C.E. I’ve ever bought actually.
I just pre-ordered The Witcher 3 today, and it’s well deserved.
Nice article and I completely agree with all of the points you made. I cannot wait for the Witcher 3:Wild Hunt. It is easily my most anticipated game of 2015. [ was 2014 until the delay 🙂 ]
W3:Wild Hunt has a serious chance for 2015 GOTY contention and I am betting it will be on many gaming media and gamers short-lists when all is said and done.
CDPR’s business practices speaks volumes on the negative state the gaming industry is in presently. It is a damn shame when we literally have to praise a company ‘exclusively’ for treating their fans with dignity and respect!
That will not stop my continuous praise of CDPR for showing true passion developing their games while keeping their integrity intact all the while giving respect to their fan base.
BTW, you forgot to mention the most important platform – PC!
CDPR are PC devs first and foremost,that doesn’t mean they will not create incredible console versions of their games. I do find it rather odd not to give a nod to their PC gaming root but more importantly,that the game will also be releasing on PC. 😉
I thought Biowares Neverwinter Nights (with Linux Support) was worth it so I bought the original, the expansions, Gold and Diamond edition and all the Premium modules. Same with Dragon Age: Origins then the Awakening expansion and then Ultimate edition (Windows, PS3 and OS X). I wanted to support a developer that did things right (removed the DRM in the last update, provided interesting DLC, etc)
I am excited to pre-order The Witcher 3 but I am waiting for confirmation of an OS X build. I’m want to support CD Projekt Red for the DRM/DLC stances also want to show support for Games released on Linux or OS X also. Even a good Cider or Wineskin release would satisfy me for support (it’s not perfect but better then a VM). Same with the amazing looking Cyberpunk 2077
Considering the crap EA does today I really want to support companies that want us to enjoy our experience.