CD Projekt RED's CEO sent out some rather uplifting news for PC gamers the world around: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be DRM-free in all its incarnations, whether it be digital or boxed. Just to be absolutely certain about this news, there was an open letter let loose to the community to certify that CD Projekt is serious about being community-friendly.
CD Projekt RED posted the news on their official website, where CEO Marcin Iwinski posted the following missive of good intent...
Hey, following our recent announcement of the distribution deals of The Witcher 3 in North America and Europe, there have been some concerns regarding DRM and previous legal issues with The Witcher 2. We’ve seen a lot of comments in various places around the web and we would like to join in on the conversation.I’d like to say it loud and clear: The PC version of The Witcher 3 will have absolutely no DRM from day 0. Zero. Zip. Nada. It doesn’t matter if you choose to buy it on GOG.com and support us directly or buy the game in box format, you’ll still get the 100% DRM-free experience. And this goes for the whole world.We’ve fiddled with DRM in the past (Oh boy! How young and naïve we were;)) and that’s enough. Lesson learned.
Iwinski goes on to say that no community will be excluded as far as their powers will enable them to spread the good will and good cheer of The Witcher, a game about a heartless killer who murders, slices, dices and uses magic to peel the living flesh off his victims by burning them, freezing them and throwing acid on them like an Iranian chauvinist. He's a real nice fellow, though, really.
So far, The Witcher 3 is high-up on the list of the most anticipated games for next-generation consoles and PC. I don't know how well CD Projekt RED will deal with porting the game over from PC and PS4 to the Xbox 720p, though.
I get the feeling that making concessions for such a visually grand game to fit on last-generation technology would be a real disservice to the developers' talents. However, a much better alternative would be if they just scrapped the Xbox One version altogether and just ported the game over to the Wii U instead... I mean, it does support more native 1080p 60fps games than the Xbox One. It only makes sense.
Still, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is boasting some true high-end features, such as larger open-worlds compared to those in the first two games, more visual customization options, graphics that look like they belong in a painting hanging on the wall of the Neue Galerie in New York. The game will also have improved combat and fighting mechanics, especially after a lot of newb players complained about the way the combat works in the previous games. Although, compared to Ryse, the Witcher games run absolute circles around Crytek's offerings... just saying.
Anyway, Microsoft should take note of CD Projekt's PR; this is how you do right by your customers. CD Projekt is basically winning over the internet one public decision at a time, and the internet is loving them for it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is set for release in 2014 for the Xbox One (720p), the PlayStation 4, and PC. The game will be available via GOG.com, Steam and other major digital distributors. Warner Bros. Entertainment and Namco Bandai will be co-publishing the game in North America and Europe. For more information be sure to pay a visit to the official website.
