The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
EN The-Witcher-3 Logo-Black RGB.svg
Original title Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon
Studio PolandPoland CD project RED
Publisher European UnionEuropean Union Bandai Namco Games Warner Bros. Interactive Spike Chunsoft
United StatesUnited States
JapanJapan
Senior Developer Konrad Tomaszkiewicz (Creative Director)
composer Marcin Przybyłowicz
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4:
May 19, 2015
Nintendo Switch:
October 15, 2019
platform Microsoft Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Nintendo Switch
Game engine REDengine 3 with PhysX , HairWorks (on PC), SpeedTree and Umbra 3
genre Action RPG
Subject Fantasy
Game mode Single player
control Mouse and keyboard , gamepad
system advantages
preconditions
medium DVD-ROM , Blu-ray , game module , download
language Multilingual
Current version 1.32 (PC)
1.60 (Xbox One)
1.62 (PS4)
3.6 (Switch)
copy protection differently
Age rating
USK from 18
PEGI from 18
PEGI content
rating
Game contains violence Game contains swear words

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ( Polish original title: Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon , translated as: The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt ) is an action role-playing game from the Polish development studio CD Projekt RED . It was released on May 19, 2015, as the successor to The Witcher (2007) and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011).

Like its predecessors, The Witcher 3 is based on the Witcher novel series by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski . The focus of the game is again the witcher Geralt von Rivia as a player character , looking for his foster daughter Ciri , who is on the run from the eponymous "Wild Hunt". Version 3 of the specially developed game engine REDengine is used in the game .

action

Together with his mentor, the witcher Vesemir, Geralt von Rivia is in search of the sorceress and Geralt's former lover, Yennefer von Vengerberg. They traverse the war-ravaged Temeria, which, like all "Northern Kingdoms", fends off an invasion of the mighty Nilfgaard Empire. The country threatens to sink into chaos. The population suffers not only from the invading army, but also from deserters, bands of robbers and roaming monsters. Many residents counter the loss of public order and security by worshiping the "Eternal Fire", a fanatical religion that primarily hunts for magicians and "non-creatures" such as elves, dwarves or halflings.

In a remote tavern in Weißgarten they finally meet Yennefer, who is accompanied by a Nilfgaardian guard. She persuades Geralt to meet Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard. The latter wishes to meet Geralt in Vizima, the former capital of the now occupied Temeria. On the ride there, however, Yennefer, Geralt and the convoy are pursued and attacked by the Wild Hunt, ghostly warriors in heavy armor. In Vizima, the emperor asked Geralt to look for his biological daughter, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, or Ciri for short. According to an old witchcraft, she came to Geralt as a ten-year-old as a so-called “surprise child” after Geralt had freed her father from a curse before she was born. From then on, Geralt trained her to become a monster hunter at the witcher's fortress Kaer Morhen, which is located far to the north, and developed fatherhood for her. Ash blonde Ciri, now 23 years old, is a child of "older blood", ie the last survivor of a very old elven bloodline, which gives her special abilities, such as influencing space and time. She is on the run from the Wild Hunt, mysterious elves from another sphere who want to make use of their abilities. The emperor orders Geralt to find Ciri and bring him safely to him.

Without any clues, Geralt goes to Velen, where he hopes to get more information through contact with a Nilfgaard spy. Geralt only finds the spy dead, tortured to death by the wild hunt. However, he finds clues in his notes that Ciri suspect to be Crow's Rock. The self-proclaimed Baron Phillip Strenger, also known as the "Bloody Baron", rules the Krähenfels Castle. The baron is ready to tell Geralt about Ciri, but only if he brings his kidnapped wife and daughter back safely. Geralt finds out that the two were by no means kidnapped, but deliberately fled from the baron, his alcohol-related moods and his outbursts of violence.

Geralt finds the Baron's daughter in the city of Oxenfurt. However, she decidedly refuses to ever want to return to her father. Another lead leads Geralt to meet the sorceress Keira Metz. From her he learns that a mysterious elf magician is looking for Ciri. When searching his library, they come across information that Ciri suspects in the humpback swamp. The "aunts" rule over the swamp and the forest, three powerful and cruel witches who are worshiped by the villagers and who make horrific sacrifices. There is also an “orphanage” in the swamp, with the children being looked after by a suspicious old woman. The aunts ask Geralt to destroy an old tree in which there is an allegedly evil spirit. However, he gives reasons for his behavior and asks Geralt to free him so that he can take revenge on the aunties and the villagers. Geralt learns from the aunties that they were holding Ciri prisoner. Before they could eat them, however, they fled. The old woman with the children also turns out to be a mentally confused Anna Strenger, the baron's wife. From the latter himself he learns about Ciri's stay on Krähenfels and that Ciri then made his way to Novigrad, the large, free trading town in the north. The fate of those involved depends on Geralt's decisions.

Novigrad is under the influence of the Church of the "Eternal Fire", supported by Radovid, the cruel but strategically brilliant King of Redania, who has witch hunters carried out pogroms and public executions of wizards. There he meets his dwarf friend Zoltan Chivay and tracks down Triss Merigold, a friend and former lover, who had to hide as a sorceress. She refers him to the interpreter of dreams, Corinne Tilly, with whose help he dreams of delphinium, Geralt's bard and long-time friend, who is now being held captive by the church. In order to free him, Geralt goes into the criminal underworld of the city, meets Sigismund Dijkstra, the former master spy of Redania, and son of a bitch Junior, a sadistic gang leader. In order to get Doppler Dudu to work together, Geralt and Delphinium's friend Priscilla put on a play with a hidden message. Dudu then transforms himself into the dead Caleb crowd, in order to have Larkspur moved to Oxenfurt; during the transfer, Geralt and Zoltan free Delphinium. After Larkspur is rescued, he explains that Ciri is now on the Skellige Islands in the west. Before his departure, Geralt supports Triss in making it possible for the local magicians to escape, but then Radovid's hatred and pogroms spread to the non-males. Geralt now has the opportunity to participate in the murder plot against Radovid, with Dijkstra or the Temerian patriots and resistance fighters Vernon Roche and Ves, depending on his wishes.

Geralt travels by ship to Skellige, where he again meets Yennefer, who was arriving to investigate a huge magical explosion in a forest, which she believes is related to Ciri. Together they attend the funeral of King Bran, the ruler of the Skellige, a Viking-like people. From now on they will witness the disputes over the succession to the throne. Geralt can stay out of this or either support Cerys, the clever and forward-looking daughter, or Hjalmar, the brave but quick-tempered son of Crach an Craite, an old friend. Through the "Mask of Uroboros", which they steal from a druid, Geralt and Yennefer learn more about Ciri's stay on the islands. Their research leads them to the village of Lofoten, which has been attacked and devastated by the wild hunt. They learn that Ciri fled with the young villager Skjall, who is now decried as a coward. After his body is found, Yennefer temporarily resuscitates it through necromancy, and Skjall tells them about Ciri. In agony, the corpse also tells of Uma, a deformed little creature that Geralt noticed on Crow's Rock. On the islands, Geralt and Yennefer put their love to the test by having a djinn untie the bond between them.

Back in Velen, Geralt procures the simple-minded, disfigured creature Uma, who was kept there as a mascot and a fool. He realizes that Uma is under a curse. Geralt presents Uma to the emperor, with the reference that it could be Ciri, or that Uma is at least connected to her. Geralt travels with the creature to Kaer Morhen, the now dilapidated witcher fortress of the wolf school, in order to be able to deal with the curse there. The curse of Uma can be removed from Yennefer and this turns out to be the elven magician Avallac'h, who accompanied Ciri and was separated from her in Lofoten and cursed by Eredin as a mockery. He teleported Ciri to the remote Misty Island for her safety. There the seemingly dead Ciri was found by stranded dwarfs. When Geralt finds her there, life returns to her body and the two are reunited after a long time.

Ciri cosplay

They go back to Kaer Morhen together, knowing that Ciri's presence would attract the wild hunt. In their small group of sorcerers and wizards, they prepare for the impending attack. Ciri explains why the wild hunt pursues them: The home dimension of these elves is about to be destroyed by the white cold, which covers the whole country with ice and snow. Eredin, the king of these elves, wants to use Ciri's ability to change space and time for his people to conquer a new home. During the Wild Hunt attack on the Witcher's Fortress, Vesemir is killed by Imlerith, a general of the Wild Hunt. This puts Ciri in sadness and rage and an uncontrolled outbreak of their strength forces the elves to retreat.

The group decided to go on the offensive from now on. Geralt takes advantage of the quarrel among the elves, Eredin's rule is not without controversy. During a ritual in Velen, Geralt kills Imlerith, while Ciri kills two of the three aunties. You will also learn about the Sunstone on the Skelligen, which can lure Eredin and his warriors into a trap. This attack takes place, with both Skellige warriors, as well as the Nilfgaardian fleet, actually present for the invasion of the islands, oppose it. Geralt and Ciri kill Caranthir, the mage and navigator of the Wild Hunt, before Geralt confronts Eredin. Shortly before his death, Eredin reveals to Geralt that Avallac'h cheated on them both and played them off against each other.

Dimensional gates open and the white cold begins to spread to Skellige. Geralt confronts Avallac'h, who despises Ciri for her human blood but sees her as a useful tool. Avallac'h explains his behavior. Ciri realizes that only she can stop the dimensional cracks and the white cold with her strength, even if she has to sacrifice herself. So she walks through a portal.

Then the game's epilogue begins. Depending on the decisions made by the player, different courses and endings can appear. The main storyline has three possible endings: Ciri survives the White Cold, but Geralt tells Emhyr that she died. Geralt then picks up a sorcerer's silver sword specially made for Ciri and presents it to her in the Weissgarten tavern. Or Ciri survives the White Cold and does something with Geralt before she is picked up by Nilfgaard soldiers in Weißgarten; she then becomes the new Empress of Nilfgaard. In addition, Ciri can find death in the fight against the white cold. Geralt then kills the third aunt who had stolen her locket from Ciri. His further fate remains unanswered.

Depending on further decisions, the action can end in 36 different ways, e.g. B. whether Geralt settles with Yennefer, Triss, or neither, who becomes ruler of Skellige, or whether Nilfgaard or the Northern Kingdoms win the war.

Gameplay

The gameplay largely corresponds to that of its predecessor. The player mainly controls the witcher Geralt from a third-person perspective through a medieval fantasy world. Only in some action-relevant scenes does the player take on the female character Ciri for a short time. Geralt carries both a steel and a silver sword, which is used in the fight against monsters. He can cast certain spells or signs in combat. Opposing attacks can be blocked or countered, alternatively they can be evaded by a roll or a side step. The biggest innovation is the game world , which is open for the first time in The Witcher series , which is 35 times larger than in the predecessor. As with its predecessors, the decisions made by the player have a significant impact on the further course of the story, the game has a total of 36 different endings. This principle should make the player aware of the consequences of his decisions. The player should need at least 100 hours of playing time for the main plot, and a further 50 hours are estimated for the optional subplots. The player is not forced to strictly follow the main story. As a sorcerer, i.e. a professional monster hunter, Geralt always has the option of accepting various side missions and sorcerer assignments that can be found on notice boards in many towns or of tackling "random quests". These were praised as being quite complex and exciting. The “Gwint” card game integrated into the game was also very popular, with players being able to be found throughout the game world and cards to be won or bought. The popularity of this strategic card game ensured that CD Projekt RED released the offshoot game Gwent: The Witcher Card Game in 2018 after a lengthy open beta phase.

development

The Witcher 3 was announced as the conclusion of the narrative with the witcher Geralt as the protagonist. In June 2013, CD Projekt estimated the development and marketing costs to the Polish business newspaper Puls Biznesu at more than 110 million zloty , of which 45 million zloty for development and marketing measures amounting to 25 million US dollars . The Witcher 3 was thus the most expensive Polish computer game production. Up to 230 people were involved in the production. According to the website Gazeta.pl of June 9, 2015, the production cost in the end was more than 120 million zlotys and the marketing budget was 35 million US dollars.

Game presentation in Poznan (2014)

Originally the game was supposed to be released in autumn 2014, but at E3 in June 2014 it was announced that the release would be postponed to February 24, 2015. The main reason given was performance problems that prevented smooth gaming. In order to get the game to work on the console, the streaming system was rewritten, which only reloaded the content in the immediate vicinity of the character. In December 2014, the release date was postponed by a further twelve weeks to May 19, 2015, as the size and scope of the program would have required additional time for quality assurance. The development of new content had already been completed by this point. The USK issued an age rating of 18 and over for the unchanged German-language version. The gold bulletin was issued on April 16, 2015, marking the completion of the development work.

Developer CD Projekt announced in advance that it would support the game with 16 free downloadable add-ons ( DLC ), two add-ons per week after the first release. Even before the development work was completed, the developer announced two paid extensions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine , for October 13, 2015 and May 31, 2016.

In the run-up to publication, CD Projekt affirmed the company's position, expressed earlier , of wanting to forego digital rights management (DRM). Like its predecessor, the game itself is therefore not equipped with any additional copy protection software. Nevertheless, there are two measures against black copies. On the one hand, all first editions of the game delivered on data storage media require the one-time download of an additional file after installation, without which the game cannot start. This was described as a measure to prevent the game from leaking prematurely during the manufacturing process. Editions produced later should forego this measure. On the other hand, a code for CD Projekt's online distribution platform GOG.com was enclosed with all sales versions for PC , without which the player would not have access to patches, free DLCs and bonuses such as the soundtrack. In addition, manufacturer-independent copy protection methods of the respective online distributors, e.g. B. Steam .

The composer Marcin Przybylowicz and the Polish folk band Percival from Lüben were responsible for the soundtrack of the game . The group, which has existed since 2005 and named itself after the character Percival Schuttenbach, from the Witcher novels, used existing compositions for the game, as well as newly recorded songs. The Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt , under the direction of Bernd Ruf, was responsible for the main musical theme and other orchestral music .

Geralt's sword fighting style is based on the German fencing school , influenced by Johann Liechtenauer , for example . The motion capture recordings were choreographed by the Polish stuntman Maciej Kwiatkowski, who consciously combined the fight with the long sword with a dancing style.

technology

The console versions delivered differ technically in a few details. While the PlayStation 4 version runs in a native resolution of 1080p , the Xbox One calculates the game according to the developer dynamically in a resolution between 900p (1600 × 900 pixels) and 1080p. However, 1080p can only be detected in prefabricated video sequences and in the main menu of the Xbox version. In addition to the higher resolution, the game on PS4 benefits from better texture filtering , but is otherwise visually identical to the Xbox version.
When shipped, the PS4 frame rate was limited to a maximum of 30 frames per second ( FPS ). V-Sync in combination with double buffering also ensured that the frame rate largely dropped to a constant 20 frames per second when performance fell. The Xbox version, however, initially allowed a flexible frame rate of up to 40 frames per second. Due to the strongly varying still image times ( frame pacing ), the Xbox version was still behind the PS4 version in smooth moving image display. Patch 1.03 limited the frame rate of the Xbox version up to 30 FPS and thus largely solved the frame pacing problem. With patch 1.07, the DoubleBuffer setup and thus the 20FPS behavior of the PS4 version was added to the Xbox. In contrast to the frame rate lock of Patch 1.03, this was perceived as a disadvantage.

The PC version of the game supports Nvidia's Hairworks technology for a more realistic representation of hair and animal fur. For the PlayStation 4 Pro , CD Projekt RED released patches 1.50 and 1.51 in October 2017, which adapted the game to this more powerful console variant and thus now ensured 4K UHD resolution and better performance and stability. This update (version 1.60) followed for the Xbox One X in December 2017, additionally with optional HDR support. For the PS4 Pro, this HDR support followed in April 2018, along with bug fixes that occurred in 4K mode (patch 1.61).

synchronization

The German voice recordings took place in the G&G recording studio in Kaarst (including Day of the Tentacle , Sam & Max ). If these were included, all characters, with the exception of Triss Merigold, received the same speakers as in the previous game.

Yennefer cosplay
Ciri Cosplay
Role name Voice actor
Geralt of Rivia Markus Pfeiffer
Yennefer from Vengerberg Katrin von Chamier
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (Ciri) Katrin Hess
Triss Merigold Vanessa's wish
Philip Strenger Dieter Brandecker
Lambert David M. Schulze
Sigismund Dijkstra Rolf Berg
delphinium Oliver Schnelker
Zoltan Chivay Dieter Brink
Donkey Olaf Reitz
Crach an Craite Peter Harting
Mouse sack Axel Gottschick
Vesemir Bert Cöll
Emhyr var Emreis Hendrik Stickan
Letho from Guleta Tom Jacobs
Priscilla Birte Baumgardt
Cerys to Craite Julia von Tettenborn
Hjalmar to Craite Arne Obermeyer
Caleb crowd Volker Wolf
Son of a bitch junior Daniel Werner
Vernon Roche Philipp Schepmann
Radovid Lars Schmidtke
Ves Milena Karas
Philippa Eilhart Michaela Kametz

Publication and extensions

The first edition of the game was released on May 19, 2015 in a slipcase, with an additional soundtrack CD, a sticker, a map, a small compendium and a letter of thanks from the developers. In addition to this version, a "limited edition" was released, with a bound artbook , the little comic book Killing Monsters , a wolf head pendant, a steelbook and a statue showing Geralt fighting a griffin .

CD Projekt RED then published 16 free download extensions from May 19, 2015 to August 17, 2015, at weekly intervals. These included more hairstyles and beards for Geralt, armor, alternative clothes for Yennefer and Ciri, new Gwint cards, additional animations, the "New Game Plus" mode, and other game missions in the form of sorcerer missions.

Hearts of Stone was released as paid add-ons on October 13, 2015, and Blood and Wine on May 31, 2016

On August 30, 2016, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released as a so-called "Game-of-the-Year Edition". In addition to the main game, this includes all free and paid download extensions as well as the current patch status. Existing saved games are not compatible with this version.

On October 15, 2019, the "Complete Edition" of the game was released for the Nintendo Switch . This version contains all download content and patches that have ever been released, so it is up to date with the "Game-of-the-Year-Edition". After an update, in addition to German and English, French is also available as voice output with subtitles.

reception

reviews
publication Rating
PS4 Nintendo Switch Windows Xbox One
4players 90% 85% 90% 90%
GameCritics 7.5 / 10 k. A. 7.5 / 10 7.5 / 10
Game Informer 9.75 / 10 k. A. k. A. k. A.
GamePro 92% k. A. k. A. 91%
GamesRadar 4/5 k. A. k. A. k. A.
GameSpot 10/10 k. A. k. A. k. A.
GameStar k. A. k. A. 92% k. A.
Games world 10/10 k. A. 10/10 10/10
IGN 9.3 / 10 8/10 k. A. k. A.
Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) 4/5 k. A. k. A. k. A.
Official Xbox Magazine UK k. A. k. A. k. A. 4.5 / 5
PC Gamer US k. A. k. A. 92% k. A.
PC Games 91% k. A. 92% k. A.
The Guardian 5/5 k. A. k. A. k. A.
Meta-ratings
Metacritic 92/100 85/100 93/100 91/100

Reviews

In general, the game and its extensions were received extremely positively and it received consistently high ratings in the trade press. The graphic design, the extensive game world and the storytelling were particularly emphasized.

The Witcher 3 was praised by the German computer game magazine 4Players after a presentation at the Gamescom games fair with, among other things, “This game world looks fantastic”.

The English-language online magazine GameCritics criticized the combat system, which is better than its predecessors, but not good enough to remain interesting in a game of this size in the long term.

“Huge game world, strong story, 100 hours of quests, top graphics and exciting decisions - CD Projekt's ambitions bordered on megalomania. But the test of the PS4 and PC versions shows that the Poles have outdone themselves, the finale of the Geralt trilogy meets almost all expectations. "

- PC Games

"The Witcher 3 enchants with a fairy tale world the likes of which has never been seen before - and sets the new benchmark for role-playing games."

- Christian Neeb : Criticism at Spiegel Online

“CD Project RED is the crowning glory of an epic saga. In the open world, this role-play achieves a tremendous atmospheric density, because it not only stages the spectacular and combative, but also hits the soft tones and rewards attentive exploration. It impresses with its extremely high quest quality and narrative class including direct and later effective consequences that surprise or horrify you again and again. (...) There is the excellent German voice output, the great script that doesn't run out of breath towards the end like in The Witcher 2. The Poles are not only very successful in showing a medieval fantasy world that is characterized by military and social conflicts and is full of moral contradictions. In addition, there is this almost astonishing devotion to the staging of village milieus and the large city of Novigrad. It's just fun to walk slowly through this world. When you've had enough of it, you plunge into the next dramatic quest, in which you decide the fate of tragic characters, or you hunt down mythical monsters in a dream setting. And not over ten, but a hundred hours. Hats off and applause! "

- Jörg Luibl : Criticism at 4Players

“Where do I get to see such a wonderful and believable game world? Which other game offers me such expressive characters? How rarely do I experience such varied side missions? The Witcher III binds me to its world because there I experience stories and adventures beyond the usual genre paths. I listen carefully to every conversation, want to see all corners of the country, think about my decisions and at the end of some quests even show remorse about their effects. (...) Other adventures will find it difficult to reach this level, let alone surpass it. "

- Sascha Göddenhoff : Criticism at M! Games

“We'd rather not talk about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Otherwise we would have to tell them, all the great stories we experienced in the test. All the memorable moments, all the laughs, twists and turns and strokes of fate. For example the thing with the cursed noble daughter and the rats. Or the choice we had to make after removing a werewolf from its curse. We should tell about the prank call in women's clothes! From Ronwid vom Sümpfle and the Jungfer Heidelbeer! From the secret of the bloody baron! From the self-teleporting magic tower! From the Jarl's baby! From CSI Novigrad and Sherlock from Riva! And of course from the lighthouse scene, dear time, we laughed! We have to tell so much, we want to tell so much. Because The Witcher 3 is full of sometimes big, sometimes small stories, it grabs us, pulls us along, that is the outstanding strength of the role-playing game. "

- GameStar criticism

Graphic controversy

In the run-up to the publication, there were allegations among customers against CD Projekt because of a possible reduction in the graphics performance of the PC version. By comparing official marketing materials (trailers, screenshots), differences such as the level of detail of the smoke and particle representations or the sharpness of the texture were highlighted. The discussion was fueled u. a. through alleged anonymous insider information, according to which a first gameplay trailer was created before the developers knew the actual hardware performance of the new generation of consoles (PS4, Xbox One). Since these could not have provided the corresponding performance, the display performance was therefore subsequently adapted to the weakest hardware platform. The rumors were initially presented by CD Projekt as an untrue assertion, but otherwise not commented on.

In an interview with Eurogamer after publication, CD-Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski and studio manager Adam Badowski stated that from the developer's point of view, there was no downgrade. The advertising trailer used for comparison was actually a graphic calculated in real time in an early phase of development. What was interpreted as an optical downgrade was the result of an optimization process that lasted for years, which was caused by the gradual merging of the various parts, e.g. B. the activation of the open game world and the necessary streaming of the graphic data for the smooth playback has become necessary. The particle effects could not have been retained in this form, for example, since they could not have been implemented smoothly without the DirectX 12 graphics interface, which was not yet published at the time of release. Compared to the development version for the 2013 trailer, there were also significant graphical upgrades and improvements, for example in the size of the game world, the frame rate or the individually designed environment. Iwinski and Badowski stated that they did not recognize a problem for public opinion in this natural development process, which is why the studio initially did not respond to the allegations.

Developers receiving the Game of the Year award at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2016

Editor Philipp Reuther from PC Games Hardware made similar information in a column in which he attested the developers not only the obvious reductions but also recognizable improvements in the game world design or the shadow LoD . In contrast to the playable test versions still presented at Gamescom 2014, the playback of the final game is much smoother, which he rated as much more important for the gaming experience. He criticized the stiffening of advertising material as the basis for an assessment of the game and described it as “not too difficult to understand” that “the look of a game can change during the development phase because the studio's own standards have proven to be too high and that Game runs so badly or not at all on common hardware ”. Michael Graf from GameStar described the controversy primarily as a result of poor communication from the manufacturer and therefore justified. The Witcher 3 continues to look excellent despite noticeable differences in quality compared to previous trailers, and a significant increase can also be seen on the PC compared to the console versions. What weighs more heavily, however, is that CD Projekt did not keep the previously given promise to deliver an even better look and did not openly communicate the reasons for this in good time. Richard Leadbetter from Eurogamer expressed a lack of understanding why extensive comparisons were only made with the advertising trailer from 2013 shortly before its release in May 2015, after CD Projekt had issued images throughout 2014 that largely corresponded to the final version of the game and did not respond to any protests bumped. CD Projekt was therefore very open to the situation by always presenting the latest image material. The core of the problem, however, lies in the common practice of showing images that have been specially optimized for trade fairs (so-called bullshots , suitcase word from bullshit and screenshot).

Awards (selection)

According to the developer, "The Witcher 3" received more than 800 awards, including around 250 "Game of the Year" awards.

Sales figures

Shortly after publication, CD Projekt RED put the number of pre-orders at 1.5 million copies. 500,000 of these pre-orders were added in the seven days before publication, after the first test results, Let's Plays and live streams had previously been published.

On June 9, 2015, CD Projekt RED announced that "The Witcher 3" had sold a total of 4 million times for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC two weeks after its premiere. With more than 690,000 units sold, the PC version was most frequently sold via CD Projekt RED's digital distribution service Gog.com , significantly more than the approximately 580,000 units sold by the second largest distributor, Steam .

Six weeks after the release, CD Projekt RED sold over 6 million game units and put the specific total costs (development and marketing) at up to 306 million zloty. By the end of 2015, "The Witcher 3" had sold almost 10 million times. Together with the two extensions (add-ons), CD Projekt RED generated around one billion złoty (about 236 million euros) in sales with the game by March 2017 . The release on the Nintendo Switch in October 2019 and the Netflix series "The Witcher" , which was released at the end of December 2019, increased profits by 554 percent compared to the previous year. By the end of 2019, the game had sold over 28 million times. By the end of March 2020, over 50 million units of the entire "The Witcher" game series were sold worldwide.

literature

Web links

Commons : The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Youtube - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt GDC Snippet
  2. ↑ https://www.games.ch/the-witcher-3-wild-h/news/update-1-32-hunt-veroeffentlicht-hgRb/
  3. ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/20/16801180/the-witcher-3-xbox-one-x-patch-4k-hdr-60-fps
  4. ↑ https://www.pcgames.de/The-Witcher-3-Spiel-38488/News/rollenspiel-playstation-4-patch-cd-projekt-1256564/
  5. ↑ https://thewitcher.com/de/news/31951/neues-switcher-update-jetzt-verfugbar
  6. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Ciri is second game character [Update]
  7. ↑ http://www.pcgames.de/The-Witcher-3-PC-237266/News/The-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt-35-Mal-groessere-Spielwelt-36-vieval-Enden-1065523/
  8. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from August 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thewitcher-3.de
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thewitcher.com
  10. ↑ Oliver Haake: The Witcher 3: First information from E3 2013 at the end of the trilogy. In: Buffed . June 10, 2013, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Wiedźmin 3 będzie kosztował ponad 100 mln zł. In: Puls Biznesu. July 25, 2016, Retrieved February 11, 2017 (Polish).
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  30. ↑ The Witcher 3: Xbox One gameplay footage released, uses 900p to 1080p dynamic scaling
  31. ↑ Face-Off: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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  33. ↑ The Witcher 3 Xbox One patch set to add 30fps frame-rate cap
  34. ↑ Does The Witcher 3's latest patch fix console performance? - Xbox One and PlayStation 4 re-tested with update 1.03
  35. ↑ Should you install The Witcher 3 patch 1.07? - Valuable gameplay features added, but performance takes a hit on consoles.
  36. ↑ Does Nvidia HairWorks really "sabotage" AMD Witcher 3 performance?
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  52. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Choice On A Grand Scale
  53. ↑ The Witcher's Masterpiece (PS4)
  54. ↑ The Witcher's Masterpiece (XOne)
  55. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review
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  57. ↑ a b c The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Multiple RPG orgasm?
  58. ^ Witching Hours
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  60. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review (OPM)
  61. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review (OXM)
  62. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
  63. ↑ a b The Witcher 3 - Test for PS4: Outstanding finale of the Geralt saga
  64. ^ Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review - a rich adventure born in literature
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  68. ↑ Jörg Luibl on 4Players : gc preview: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , accessed on November 2, 2013
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  72. ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/test/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt,49062,3085818.html
  73. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Continued heated discussions about a graphics downgrade
  74. ↑ CD Projekt tackles The Witcher 3 downgrade issue head on
  75. ↑ "Witcher 3: That looks worse than in the advertisement!" - A comment by Philipp Reuther
  76. ^ Column on the Witcher 3 Downgrade - Legitimate Complaints
  77. ↑ What can we learn from The Witcher 3 "downgrade" fiasco ?: Hones Trailers
  78. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 11, 2017 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thewitcher.com
  79. ↑ The Game Awards 2014 - Dragon Age Game of the Year, Sierra Industry Icon
  80. ↑ Golden Joysticks 2014: Full list of winners
  81. ↑ BIU Sales Awards May 2015: Awards for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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  90. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ( English ) Steam Spy. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015: " Owners 572,544 on 2015-06-11 "
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  93. ↑ http://www.gamersglobal.de/news/128078/cd-projekt-witcher-reihe-durchbricht-marke-von-25-millionen-verkauften-exemplaren-gescha
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  97. ↑ https://www.play3.de/2020/05/29/the-witcher-mehr-als-50-millionen-verkaeufe-der-reihe-bestaetigt/