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Just days after CD Projekt RED announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wouldn't just be taking the existing series to brand new heights, but be the "final episode in the series," the developers are clarifying their statements. The Witcher 3 will bring to a close the story of Geralt of Rivia, but won't necessarily be the last game set within the world or franchise.

As if that wasn't enough of a relief, CDPR has released the first official teaser trailer for the game, along with a few screenshots showing the scale and polish of the new RPG's environments.

There were many taken off-guard by the announcement that just as The Witcher brand was solidly entering the triple-A space as more than niche gamers' most anticipated games, it would be ending. CD Projekt Red clearly has their minds on their next franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 (even using the trailer to drop a hint at The Witcher 3), but surely they could handle more than one cutting-edge RPG?

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Teaser Trailer

While it made sense from an artistic standpoint to, as studio head Adam Badowski put it in the official press release, "end the series on high note," that notion has a hard time surviving in an increasingly competitive games industry.

So it should come as no surprise that CDPR CEO Adam Kicinskywas quick to 'clarify' what Badowski had meant. Explaining the situation to Polish press (translated by Eurogamer), Kicinsky has confirmed that while Wild Hunt will be the last game centered around Geralt of Rivia, it "doesn't mean the end of franchise."

And with that, the increasing coverage of the newly-revealed RPG can be enjoyed without any bittersweet aftertaste. Good timing, since a brand new batch of Wild Hunt images from the ongoing Game Informer exclusive arrived online (courtesy of AGB). Feast your eyes on "the most robust and breathtaking game ever created by CD Projekt RED" below:

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It's hard to know exactly what to expect from The Witcher 3 on a graphics level, since even the developers themselves have promised that the game will be even more polished when it releases sometime in 2014. But if this clarification from the Polish developer makes anything clear, it's that it's always wise to take the kinds of hyperbole and marketing words used in game announcements with a grain of salt.

Since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is undoubtedly going to be built for the PC first, the tagline for the game of being a "next-gen RPG" may not mean the same thing console owners perceive it to. Next-generation in terms of PC hardware it can fully utilize for its game world - 30x bigger than that of The Witcher 2 - or in terms of CDPR's REDEngine 3?

Have Microsoft and Sony really allowed a developer to confirm that their next generation of consoles will be arriving for its launch in 2014? For now, we'd recommend holding off larger assumptions, and just get excited for the grand finale that the storytellers have in mind for Geralt.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Logo

On that note, is there any climactic battles or characters you hope to see play a role in The Witcher 3? Or are you mostly looking forward to the games stunning visuals and even more ambitious open world? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is expected to release sometime in 2014 for all "high-end" platforms.

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Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

Source: Eurogamer, Game Informer (via AGB)