The game that nabbed the title of the most anticipated game of 2015, has been delayed. Yes, The Witcher 3 has moved from its February release date, to somewhere ion the middle of May. In an open letter to gamers, CD Projekt RED confirmed the delay.
“Ever since we started working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we knew it would be an ambitious game.” the open letter reads. “We wanted, and still aim, to give you an incredible experience, an epic adventure in a vast, completely open fantasy universe.”
“The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio’s history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly.””
With this in mind, we took another look at current workloads and what they mean for the team. Even though everyone is working at full speed, we concluded that we need another 12 weeks, so we are shifting the release date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to May 19th, 2015.
We owe you an apology. We set the release date too hastily. It’s a hard lesson, one to take to heart for the future. We know what we want to do to make Wild Hunt one of the best RPGs you will ever play. And we continue to work hard to achieve just that. So, we apologize and ask for your trust.
Thank you for the all support you show us on a daily basis. We truly do appreciate it. It has fueled us in our passion since the start and will continue to do so.”
It’s not the game’s first delay. Originally scheduled for…right about now…the game was delayed to February 2015. It’ll now be coming along on May 19.
Last Updated: December 8, 2014
Sir GIF Sexy
December 8, 2014 at 19:44
Why does this always happen to me?! WHY?! WHY WHEN I LOVE SOMETHING IT GETS TAKEN AWAY?!
http://www.pleated-jeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/twoyellows.gif
Kromas, Guardian of Cenarius
December 8, 2014 at 22:13
Gene for the win!
Skyblue
December 8, 2014 at 19:47
LOL! “DELAYED”, the new DAY ONE patch if you don’t want to fuck up all the “trust” you’ve built up with gamers who now trust you… and then charge $9.99 for a 20 year old space combat sim because SW fanboys will pay and if they don’t, nostalgic gamers will. I say this with a saddened heart but “FUCK YOU CD PROJECKT RED, you were our only hope.”
Axon1988
December 9, 2014 at 08:17
I’m okay with it. As long as there is no day 1 patch to fix major issues.
Skyblue
December 9, 2014 at 08:25
Me too actually. I was all Jamesoned up last night when I posted that and only realised this morning that I was being a complete troll. Anyway, they still need to drop the price of TIE Fighter asap. I want that game again but I am unwilling to pay more than its worth.
Axon1988
December 9, 2014 at 08:47
I understand, I was angry at first as well. But CD Projeckt Red is one decent company that produces good games in a solid environment. So I trust them, I’ll give them as much patience as they need.
With you talking about getting Tie fighter, a while ago this kind of situation got me thinking. Now I don’t have a huge backlog like most people. And while there are many games I would like to play, it’s not always possible due to a limit in the amount of time. Take Tie Fighter, great game. Great memories. Are they really worth going back to?
Currently I have about 73 games on steam. This isn’t huge, but it’s also not small. Recently it grew by quite a lot. But there are other things to consider here as well;
1. What’s the rated gameplay time per game?
2. Is it multiplayer? (Bound to take up more time than most games)
3. Is it something I have never played before?
So I asked myself these questions and started thinking about how I can decrease the size of my backlog. New schedules were formed for my hobby. And so far it’s helped me a lot! I’ve been catching up on my list.
Only changed one thing. In week days I don’t play any multiplayer games any more. If there is nothing for me to do, then I play only single player games.
Works great. I get to spend more time with my family. I get to enjoy some games with great story lines and I get to actually relax. And not get frustrated with multiplayer.
Skyblue
December 9, 2014 at 10:28
A very practical approach to game time management. I used to play a lot of multiplayer when I was younger but focus almost exclusively on SP now, far more relaxing.
I am a complete retro gaming nut so I do love replaying certain games.
Axon1988
December 9, 2014 at 10:38
Well then for you it would be completely different. Yeah I’m still reasonably young, but recently I realized that people around me are suffering i I play multiplayer games. So SP it is. Suddenly I’m more relaxed and my attention goes beyond the game.
Thami540
December 8, 2014 at 19:49
No. Just no :'(
Ryanza
December 8, 2014 at 19:53
Ok so this is what happened. The new Elder Blood trailer was released Saturday morning. Due to compression, there was a moment of blurriness to the start of every next scene in the trailer. And in the trailer there was one character, something was happening to him (could be part of the story / scene), he looked odd, textures maybe not loaded, snow textures on him some said. So just those two things created a shit storm on the forum and I mean a fucking shit storm. Downgrade was the in word. Comparison of the VGX and SOD trailers were constantly mentioned. No matter how much people tried to reassure that there was no downgrade. It just continued.
So over 160 pages of constant trolling in 2 days. The game was attacked. The developers were attacked. The company was attacked. The fans were attacked. Attacked with words. So now the game is delayed and all the trolls are rejoicing.
What happened in the last 2 days on the forum was just shocking to read. I can’t believe how people reacted. When I looked at the trailer, image to image, I saw the demo.
I truly believe that what happened on the forum over the last 2 days is why the game has been delayed. For some reason the trolls has unreasonable expectations of open world / sandbox type of game should look like.
Don’t support DRM. The Witcher 3 is not coming.
L337J1MB0B
December 9, 2014 at 07:53
I really hate this whole “ZOMG downgrade!” mentality which people have these days, but in all honesty the visual fidelity in that trailer didn’t look up to par with what we’ve seen before, and it really didn’t look like a compression issue to me. But having said that, its still stupid for people to make such a big deal out of this shit.
oVg elfroot slayer
December 9, 2014 at 08:48
Hell hath no furry than a scorned PC gamer 😛
At least they have the pride to push the game back instead of releasing a broken mess.
Don’t support D1P.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2014 at 08:57
I’m pretty sure most furries are JRPG gamers.
FoxOneZA
December 9, 2014 at 08:49
#BlurryDowngradeGate
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 08:52
You do know that for them to release the PC version and the Xbox One version = a downgrade. Or do you want the PC to look like the Xbox One version.
geelslang
December 9, 2014 at 10:35
So thats an extra 2 months for you with no games to play. This news must have hit you particularly hard.
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 8, 2014 at 20:30
They should just do what Blizzard does… Don’t give a release date until you are past all of this
Kromas, Guardian of Cenarius
December 8, 2014 at 22:15
And still screw up launch 😛
Ryanza
December 8, 2014 at 20:33
RynaZA. I hope that is not me.
Matthew Holliday
December 8, 2014 at 23:22
obviously not, you would be prefixed with “dont support DRM” in a real tag.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 8, 2014 at 20:38
Good thing I hadn’t put in for leave yet. And it gives me longer to wait until upgrading. Silver lining & all that.
RinceThis
December 8, 2014 at 21:03
Ovg will be pissed off. He did…
Reid
December 8, 2014 at 21:45
So a few more months longer for Ryanza to say “The Witcher 3 is coming.”
This game should not have any day 1 patches. The delay sucks, but at least they are willing to delay it to fix the game instead of shipping it broken.
VtttrL
December 8, 2014 at 21:50
The Dangerous trade deal that no one has ever heard of!
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1439/content_item/freetpp
http://www.releasethetext.com/
http://www.stopfasttracknow.org/
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=337443549773303
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=337097493141242
Kromas, Guardian of Cenarius
December 8, 2014 at 22:22
Okay reading some other posts I have to ask. What do you people want?!!!!!
If it gets released on time but has a day one patch you bitch.
If it gets delayed for a better polish you moan.
Stick to one damn thing people!
No wonder gamersgate happened.
I for one have a massive backlog and can stand a few more weeks of not having the game.
#Takeonesideforcryingoutloud!
Willem Swanepoel
December 9, 2014 at 06:55
#TheWorldShouldJustEnd
Captain JJ Fantasticus
December 9, 2014 at 07:29
THANK YOU
Skyblue
December 9, 2014 at 07:55
Delay is preferable to a Day One patch, always. If it’s broke, don’t ship it.
Also, don’t sell 20 year old games for $9.99.
Mossel
December 9, 2014 at 07:56
My wallet and backlog is pleased.
Tenacious_Dee
December 9, 2014 at 10:34
Yup. So many great games available at the moment. I enjoyed the sh!t out of The Witcher 2, so they can take their time and perfect the game. The new Dragon Age has really set a standard IMO.
CypherGate
December 8, 2014 at 23:06
The game hasnt been downgraded. Check article. http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/32644-Obvious-Downgrade/page44
Galbedir
December 9, 2014 at 01:27
With Evolve and GTA 5 coming out Feb, This is actually good news to me, eases the payload 🙂 Take your time CD Projekt…I know when your done, minds will be blown.
Xcalibersa
December 9, 2014 at 06:40
I am happy for the delay. Even though I have it on preorder. I dont mind waiting longer for a better game.
Dragoon of death
December 9, 2014 at 06:46
While I grumbled a bit about seeing the word delay, but if you think about it, it would be better to get a game that is nearer to 100% than most of the games being released in this day and age. Not pointing fingers…… but….. AC Unity, Battlefield 4, Halo…… the list goes on…..
Willem Swanepoel
December 9, 2014 at 06:49
So people bitch about day one patches and broken games getting released. People bitch that games getting delayed .. the world should just end really …
Tough cookie, if they are not happy with the game for release day then surely it is the right option to push it back?
Still going to buy the game and play it.
SlasherZA
December 9, 2014 at 06:59
GOTY 2018? Or was that too soon? 🙂
Wraith
December 9, 2014 at 09:43
Too soon. 2020 ;).
WitWolfy
December 9, 2014 at 07:11
Oh life’s just keeps on getting better…
/sarcasm
Captain JJ Fantasticus
December 9, 2014 at 07:28
This doesn’t bother me in the least. They want to release a complete and working game. Rather that than a broken game.
Admiral Chief BellatorMachina
December 9, 2014 at 07:42
Same here, not phased
Hammersteyn
December 9, 2014 at 07:45
They could still release it in Feb and do what everyone else does, Day one patch and smaller patches after that.
CAE9872
December 9, 2014 at 07:47
hahahahahahahahaha….No…
Skyblue
December 9, 2014 at 07:49
Won’t matter to us anyway, we’ll probably be in complete darkness by then ;(
Hammersteyn
December 9, 2014 at 07:46
hehe that one tag 😛
CAE9872
December 9, 2014 at 07:47
There is a very simple solution and this applies to ALL games.
Don’t fucking announce a release date you developer/publisher morons. Tell us about your game but don’t mention an ETA. Then when you have it nailed down enough, give us a release date. I don’t understand why game companies keep doing this – there is no need for a date at time of announcement.
You don’t see this in movie/music industries or most other industries. And no gaming isn’t the same but that is exactly why no release date should be mentioned due to its severe complexities.
This isn’t rocket science people!
Mossel
December 9, 2014 at 07:55
I don’t know about you guys but my wallet just got out of my pocket and gave a standing ovation.
Captain JJ Fantasticus
December 9, 2014 at 07:59
😀
Mine doesn’t come out of my pocket by itself anymore, I think it’s scared of me.
CAE9872
December 9, 2014 at 08:02
Sheesh you lot lucky you have wallets! My wife took mine ages ago 🙂
oOqUiS
December 9, 2014 at 08:18
Nee Man! The upside……lots of games coming February.
Peter Pan
December 9, 2014 at 08:19
Hmmm…the PC version of GTA V was set to release roundabout the same time! Yeah, I know The Witcher 3 is also on consoles, but bear in mind, the PC market has been one of the most avid supporters of CD Projekt in the past!
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 08:38
I’m still pondering at why the game was delayed. It came out of nowhere.
The whole reaction was to this guy: http://i.imgur.com/IKg9744.png. The trailer said he brings the icy cold with him, or something like that. So for that part of the game or scene, CD Projekt RED turned him into an ice cube. This is how the others looked like: http://i.imgur.com/GTkBErI.png. People went drowngrade nuts. Then the game got delayed. Now that character needs to be changed and bug checked.
The Witcher 3 delayed again:
http://i.imgur.com/JrS27Sd.png
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 08:44
And then I also have to put my tin foil hat on. Xbox One version vs the PC version. Microsoft won’t like that. How much are they willing to pay or demand to have the PC version looking more like the Xbox One version. I’m sure Microsoft is pissed at not getting the word exclusive out of any part of the game. So the delay might come at a cost.
Dutch Matrix
December 9, 2014 at 08:43
Now imagine this game turns out to be a giant turd of Duke Nukem Forever proportions.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2014 at 08:59
Then at least I got a cool statue & medallion.
oVg elfroot slayer
December 9, 2014 at 08:44
Oh crap, I got leave approved 🙁
FoxOneZA
December 9, 2014 at 08:48
Wicther 3’s very own downgradegate made it’s debut over the weekend and this could be a result of that.
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 08:49
I am delaying my comments.
Tulipdame
December 9, 2014 at 08:52
Take your time, polish it good, give me time to save up for the collectors edition.
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 08:57
You better hurry because you can only find the collectors edition at two online stores.
http://raru.co.za/video-games/1798943-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-ps4
http://www.awx.co.za/site/search.html?search_box=witcher+3&search-button=&categories-search=&exclude-search=1
Tulipdame
December 9, 2014 at 09:18
And btgames.co.za
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 09:21
No more collectors edition pre-orders at btgames. They only had the Xbox One version version left. But I see they stopped taking pre-orders now.
Tulipdame
December 10, 2014 at 10:21
Ok, so then I can kiss it goodbye
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 09:14
I don’t trust The Witcher 3 anymore. I need to find another good retail PC game without DRM to promote. Looking at the PC market that should be easy.
Don’t support DRM.
Rags
December 9, 2014 at 09:18
#whenitsdone (c) id Software
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 09:24
Cyberpunk 2077 – http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cyberpunk-2077-17.png
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 09:33
At this rate, it’s never going to be ready.
house_hero
December 9, 2014 at 09:43
I would rather they delay than have a ton of launch issues like ACUnity.
Francois Knoetze
December 9, 2014 at 09:54
Yay!! I can finish my backlog in peace now!!
Deceased
December 9, 2014 at 10:25
As a huge CD Projekt Red fan, I’ll give them the time they need to make yet another mind-blowingly-awesome game… but as a gamer, I can’t wait that looong :'(
On a side note… also excited about Cyberpunk 2077 ( http://cyberpunk.net/ ) from CD Projekt Red 😀
Nikola
December 9, 2014 at 11:55
Screw this game man #DRM for life at least the games with DRM are on time;)
Ryanza
December 9, 2014 at 12:11
On time but broken, buggy, and you still end up having to wait for game fixing patches.
jerry
December 11, 2014 at 20:38
This happened to the witcher 2 as well. They also moved its original release date to a later date. This is the second time it’s happening. What a whole bunch of lazy developers and irresponsible for what they do. They should lower the cost of the game because of this, period.