In a press release sent out earlier today, developer CD Projekt Red announced that upcoming current-gen exclusive The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will receive 16 pieces of post-launch DLC — and you won't have to pay a penny for them.
"[Gamers] expect support if we encounter any problems, we love updates constantly improving the experience, and we feel really special when we receive free content that gives us more than we initially paid for," CEO Marcin Iwiński states in an open letter on the game's website. "As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached", he continues, adding: "Haven’t we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?"
Getting to the point, the developer then confirms that the gorgeous looking RPG will get a slew of free content, stating that "everyone who buys Wild Hunt will receive 16 specially prepared DLCs absolutely for free, regardless of platform", before concluding "you don’t have to pre-order, you don’t have to buy any special edition to get them — if you own a copy of Wild Hunt, they’re yours." That's rather thoughtful isn't it?
The DLC packs themselves will include smaller add-ons like additional armour, and even cosmetic changes for protagonist Geralt, and the first batch will release a day after the title launches, on the 25th February. We reckon this is a great way to promote a game in an industry that's far too keen on scrounging pocket change from paying customers, but what do you think? Has CD Projekt Red got it right? Spout righteousness in the comments section below.
[source joystiq.com, via thewitcher.com]
Comments (26)
Yeah, anything free from game companies is great
Yeah anything free from game companies is great
What a refreshing concept for a developer to have! "Gee, let's actually give the consumer what they deserve". Other companies should listen to these guys.
This makes Bungie look like a bunch of idiots.
someone should learn from them... cough cough...bungie...cough cough
I will deffinately be getting this now, i like this guy
Bravo! Goodwill sells games too.
@arnoldlayne83 @Godsire- c'mon, the CoD season pass is the same price and CoD will be selling all sorts of little extras.
Witcher 3 is definitely my most anticipated game for PS4, until Fallout 4 is announced.
@Bad-MuthaAdebis CoD is CoD, you know what you buy -> multiplayer shooter with a small solo campaign that comes out every 2 years.... you don't discover that pieces of story coming from pre-release trailers are missing on the final game, or the story itself doesn't exist....
Said that, I was waiting the witcher so much, looks amazing to play.... this and Bloodborne are mine most wanted games for first half 2015
@arnoldlayne83
I very much applaud this & I very much will be getting W3 eventually but in the same month as Bloodborne & The Order, I'll be going for them cos I haven't played the first 2 Witcher games & I feel I would miss big story details by just diving into 3.
@Godsire- True words...puts the handling of Destiny in a poor light.
@Munkyknuts
Yea I think as consumers, it's good to reward these companies for doing this type of thing. And how do companies listen? They listen to sales. So I, for one, will be supporting this game (besides the fact that it sounds like a cool game) & this developer & maybe other companies will take notice.
And for record, I don't mind DLC if it's done properly. Meaning it's not content pulled from the original game, grossly overpriced, and just an overall cash grab. In other words, exactly what Bungie is trying to pull w/ Destiny. I don't mind giving Bethesda extra $ because the expansions for Oblivion, Fallout 3, & Skyrim were great & weren't things yanked from the original game.
Well, except for that whole "horse armor" fiasco......lol.
Does CD Projeckt Red believe in giving us an update on Cyberpunk 2077?
I like the cut of their jib.
The Witcher 3 looks like Dragon Age, but good.
I'm definitely buying this.
@3Above Good point!
@Godsire- I have nothing against DLC myself...it just tends to come out when I've moved on from the game it's for and don't get around to playing it. I bought DLC for Dishonoured, Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 among others but just never got to playing it.
DLC that is well presented and thought out can expand a games world, fill in story details, give new perspectives or even just give more of what was good about the game.
In the case of Destiny it feels too much like content from the main game was hacked out of it to be sold as an addition...as a result Destiny may be popular with some, disliked by others...but it missed out on being the truly great game it could have been. If it had been handled differently it could have been just amazing....selling over priced DLC for it just makes that sting even more.
@Munkyknuts I liked Dishonoured. But by the time the DLC came out I wasn't interested in playing any more.
It was a good game but not a patch on the first two Thief games IMO. Would buy Dishonoured 2 though. Hopefully they make it feel a bit less like you're being funnelled down corridors to the next objective.
@Godsire-
Well, at least Bethesda learned from that, unlike most other companies out there. Gotta give 'em credit for that, they haven't tried to slip a fast one past us since.
Bethesda, CD Projekt, and R* definitely prove the industry wrong that you have to nickle and dime your fans at every turn to make a profit. Same goes for games needing online multi-player too.
Very nice. As it should be....
Now see, THIS is why I respect CD Projekt - and why GOG is my PC platform of choice.
If there's a reason to not like the people at CD Projekt Red I've yet to find it. I hope this game finds the success it will deserve but I have no faith in the PlayStation or Xbox fanbases. The Xbox guys already proved with The Witcher 2's pitiful sales that they don't care about it, and PS fans are more hyped for the horrible looking Gears of Cinema 1886. Hopefully the master race comes through for this game.
@SuperCat I never felt like Dishonoured was guiding me along paths it chose. There were always options of how to tackle levels and the choices made had a greater impact on how things would play out...even to the point of the last level changing completely depending on choices made. But it was the story and the art style and the deisel punk aesthetics that had me sold on it anyway.
I liked the game so much I got the DLC which I don't often do...and then never played it, which is exactly why I'd usually not buy it.
I will most certainly buy the next Dishinoured game if it ever comes out.
@Munkyknuts Agreed on Dishonoured, I wasn't a huge fan of the game myself at first, but I later realised that was because I simply hadn't been creative enough. A little while post-completion I ended up looking at some videos online, and the level of variety you can take with some of the levels if you put your mind to it was pretty amazing!
As for the Witcher, totally agreed with all other posts here - a lot of the "AAA" companies could learn something from the handling of this game.
This is great. I always never buy DLC cause its to expensive and not worth it (most of the times). But do remember that this is only PURE PR!. Still a damn good move but GREAT PR, everyone loves free stuff.... me included.
Sweet, I work in software development and most dlc is not stuff which gets held back, its just stuff that doesn't get finished on time. Fair play to CDProjeckt
I wasn't sure if, I should pick up the Witcher 3 ad launch but, this makes the decision easy AKA Day 1 purchases.
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