The Witcher 3 Revealed

After Sony revealed their 'See the Future' trailer there was the belief that the opening of the next-gen flood gates was soon about to become a reality. Rather than dance around discussions of whether or not a title was next-gen, developers would finally be able to acknowledge the future of console gaming is almost upon us.

It's still not February 20th, but it looks like we have our first real glimpse of the next-gen, and it comes in the form of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the next entry in CD Projekt Red's RPG series. What's different about Wild Hunt as compared to past Witcher entries, though, is its classification in the open-world RPG genre.

Like most of this generation's most popular titles, this Witcher 3 scoop comes courtesy of Game Informer, who has selected Wild Hunt as their March issue's cover story. On the cover can be seen a very bearded Geralt of Rivia, the eponymous witcher, as well as a hooded companion, both overlooking a burning village. The only text on the cover mentions The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and labels the game as a "must see next generation RPG" -- a very intriguing tagline.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will reportedly use CD Projekt's new REDengine 3, a graphics engine the developer says was built for the next wave of systems. CD Projekt has, up until this point, been considered a developer that focuses on the PC more so than the home consoles, but based on statements from RedEngine 3 it appears The Witcher 3 will be the first multiplatform release from the developer (not counting The Witcher 2's Xbox 360 port obviously).

Since the Game Informer cover reveal, the publication has also released a video that briefly touches upon The Witcher 3's development team and why they finally decided to take the series into the open world genre. The team at CD Projekt Red also briefly mentions a mysterious, but very intriguing, monster hunter mode, and teases the game's story.

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As the conclusion to The Witcher trilogy, Wild Hunt will not be just a sweeping tale that emphasizes player freedom, but also a very personal story for Geralt. The developers wouldn't say much, but they hint that the game's main antagonist will have close ties to Geralt in some way.

Though talk of a third Witcher game and a next generation RPG are likely to excite gamers it's still fairly early to begin making assumptions about CD Projekt Red's forthcoming title. Not to mention the fact the developer just recently unveiled a new sci-fi themed RPG, Cyberpunk 2077. Ironically it was a clue hidden within the Cyberpunk trailer that teased a new Witcher.

More important than that, though, the teaser message mentioned that, whatever this mystery game was, it is "much closer to completion" than Cyberpunk. Could we be looking at a 2013 or early 2014 release for The Witcher 3?

Are you ready for the return of Geralt in The Witcher 3? How would you like to see CD Projekt Red adapt their franchise to the next-gen?

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt currently has no release date and has not been announced for any platforms.

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Source: Game Informer

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