It's unfortunate how much a part of the video game business leaks have become. Whether it's a triple-A multiplatform release, or even a console exclusive, the need to uncover any and everything about a game ahead of time seems to be greater than ever, and it is to developers' detriment that such an attitude exists.
Just recently, The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red was faced with their own leak - quite a sizeable one, in fact. The leaked document, which was procured from a CD Projekt employee, included a ton of previously unannounced details from the game including story beats and the game's many endings.
Obviously, in the interest of keeping The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's story as pure as possible, we won't post any of those spoilers, but they are out there. That being said, some good may have come from the leak, as players now get a better sense of just how large the world of The Witcher 3 might be, as an overlay of just one area in the game was included in the document.
As you can see from the image above, CD Projekt Red is aiming for a massive scope with this third, and potentially final game. The developer has said they hope to make The Witcher 3 better than Skyrim and Dragon Age, and while we can't verify that claim until next February, it's quite evident the game's size will rival, and likely surpass, those two franchises.
Another portion of the document worth highlighting is a line of text that says that the entire experience can be played on all three platforms — PC, XBONE, and PS4. Clearly, CD Projekt is in the home stretch, and now it's about fine-tuning the experience by squashing bugs and whatnot.
That section also claims that "performance is expected to be worse on consoles," but it's unclear how different one version will be from the other. Obviously, given that The Witcher started out as a PC-focused franchise before making the leap to consoles with The Witcher 2, the expectation is the game will be best on PC, but we're still curious how far behind the current-gen versions will be. Resolution is a big talking point as of late, but CD Projekt has said they don't find differences like that "meaningful."
Also, if you're curious to read a play-by-play of the demo we saw at E3 2014, the document offers not just a description but also an explanation as to what types of emotions each section is supposed to evoke. It's a mostly harmless walkthrough, but let's just say that the term "boob physics" was thrown around, which could lead to some troubles for CD Projekt.
Ultimately, the leak is an unfortunate one for CD Projekt Red and The Witcher 3, as the story has been one of the more closely guarded secrets in the game, but we suspect loyal Witcher fans will refrain from delving into the document. They, like us, can wait until the finished product arrives.
What do you think of The Witcher 3's scope and scale? Are you curious enough to read about the game's ending?
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt releases Feberuary 24, 2014 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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