The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt announced, will end the series

CD Projekt RED has announced the third game in the Witcher series will be the last game in the Witcher series- and it looks like they’ll be going out with a bang.

For it’s part, the studio says that this will definitely be the last game in the series. Studio head Adam Badowski adds that they want to take the character of Geralt of Rivia out on top and that the technology has finally progressed to a level where they can tell the tale that they want. No doubt fans will be sad to see the main man go as The Witcher series has been hands down one of the best western RPG’s of this generation.

Still from the sound of things, Wild Hunt should definitely make fans happy:

“The captivating and non-linear story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place in a rich, truly open-world environment. A world which is thrilling to explore, full of daring adventures, momentous quests, memorable characters, and unique monsters. Players will freely travel through woods, lakes, mountains, cities and villages. Each region is inhabited by distinct populations with their own customs, legends and problems. The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 30 times bigger than The Witcher 2,” said Adam Badowski, head of the studio.

“Imagine playing a dark fantasy game with the same great non-linear story as in the previous Witcher titles, but now told in a world you can explore freely with no artificial boundaries. The war-ravaged world is so huge that to reach farther places you will need to ride a horse or sail a boat to get there. A world where your choices have truly epic consequences. From the development side, this goal is extremely demanding. Our team had to make significant design changes and our tech had to be rebuilt. But we believe that this will lead to a completely new level of non-linearity and a whole new, richer gaming experience. As a gamer, I would love to play this kind of RPG, and I think this is what many players are waiting for. This is our dream come true at CD Projekt RED, and we hope it will be the same for you!” adds Badowski.

An open world is definitely different for Geralt. CD Projekt RED recently said (in an unrelated story) that one of their main goals for the future was to weave a tight narrative while at the same time giving players an open world to explore- that’s something rarely accomplished in gaming.

Narritive often takes a back seat in open world games like Fallout and Skyrim so it’ll be interesting to see what the developer does with Wild Hunt. Although to be fair- neither of those series have a strong, easily identified main character like Geralt. So that’s a leg up for The Witcher 3 already.

Aside from the usual deep story, CD Projekt RED promises the game will have plenty of sailing and monster hunting galore. They also promise a revamped combat system that “will allow players to feel like a real monster-hunter, a witcher who uses his superior senses and fighting skills to survive in a dark fantasy world–while he embarks on a quest to save his loved ones.” They also make a special point to say that players won’t be saddled with any quick time events- that’s something that I personally will give a thumbs up to.

There’s no date set yet for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but you can expect to see it some time next year for “high end platforms”. I’m just going to go ahead and assume that means next generation consoles and PC.

Also worth mentioning is that the first two games in the series are on sale (50% off) for a very limited time on both GOG and Steam and the price tag has been permanently slashed on the retail Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition, so if you need to catch up on your Witchin’…