Big news has come out of Polish developer CD Projekt RED over the past 24 hours. The studio’s first two releases, The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, have surpassed the 5 million sold mark, and the company has announced the final entry in the Witcher franchise, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, to be built on its recently revealed REDengine 3.
REDengine 3 is the third iteration of CD Projekt RED’s RPG-centric gaming technology, and will focus on the marriage of direct, in-depth storytelling with open-world play. In the developer’s words, “It is created for RPGs set in vast open worlds with improved tools for spanning truly nonlinear stories that are based on real player choices and consequences.”
Using this new engine, CD Projekt RED aims to remedy a problem the studio sees in modern RPG development, and offer players an expansive open world without sacrificing the “complex, multi-threaded” story they wish to tell. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, slated for a 2014 release on PC and next-generation consoles, claims to offer players “a living open world larger than any other in modern RPG history,” while maintaining series staples like mature narrative and choice-based play.
Those staples have pushed the series beyond 5 million sales, a press release this morning stated. In celebration of this accomplishment, the first two games in the series will see reduced prices across all platforms. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition for Xbox 360 has been reduced to $29.99 (19.99 GBP), and The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition are on sale for 50% off ($4.99 and $9.99, respectively) via GOG.com and Steam until February 8.
If you haven’t yet jumped into the Witcher series, now looks like the right time to do so. Check out Dan’s review of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition for some additional persuasion.
