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General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 07, 2015
Two full-blown expansions for the epic RPG.




The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost here. That means the game is pretty much finished, and the devs are about to take a deep breath while CD-presses and hype machines slowly wind up to take things through the home stretch. It's not gold yet, but now that development is coming to an end, the CD PROJEKT RED team is ready to start their work on two new, ambitious monster-hunting expansions.

The expansions will be called <span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span>, and <span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span>. Combined, they'll offer over 30 hours of new adventures for Geralt, and the latter introduces a whole new major area to roam. More items, gear, and characters (including a few familiar faces) will all be crafted with the same attention to detail as the game itself.
<span class="bold">Hearts of Stone</span> is a 10-hour adventure across the wilds of No Man's Land and the nooks of Oxenfurt. The secretive Man of Glass has a contract for you - you'll need all your smarts and cunning to untangle a thick web of deceit, investigate the mystery, and emerge in one piece.
<span class="bold"><span class="bold">Blood and Wine</span></span> is the big one, introducing an all-new, playable in-game region to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It will take you about 20 hours to discover all of Toussaint, a land of wine, untainted by war. And to uncover the dark, bloody secret behind an atmosphere of carefree indulgence.







There used to be a time when buying an add-on disk or expansion for your game really meant something. That's what CD PROJEKT RED are going for, it's about bringing that old feeling back. You can take it from our very own iWi, (that's Marcin Iwinski, co-founder of CD PROJEKT RED):

"We’ve said in the past that if we ever decide to release paid content, it will be vast in size and represent real value for the money. Both of our expansions offer more hours of gameplay than quite a few standalone games out there.”

Hearts of Stone is expected to premiere this October, while Blood and Wine is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016, so there's still plenty of time ahead. We're offering you the <span class="bold">Expansion Pass</span> now - it's a chance to pre-order the two expansions and even show your support for the devs. But we can't stress Marcin Iwinski's words enough:

“Don’t buy it if you have any doubts. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call."







The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is just over a month away, and you can pre-order the game right now - it's a particularly great deal if you own the previous Witcher games and take advantage of the additional fan discount (both The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings are 80% off right now!). You can also take a rather unique refresher course on the universe with The Witcher Adventure Game at a 40% discount, all until Thursday, 4:59 PM GMT.
Post edited April 07, 2015 by Chamb
Posted April 09, 2015
high rated
Hello Everyone,

First of all let me thank you for your feedback. Although a bit harsh at times, it is always very passionate, emotional and we really do appreciate it.

I wanted to add a few words to the original press release, which will hopefully shed some more light on the Expansions and the timing of the announcement.

Let me start with the Expansions themselves. The work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is almost done and we are waiting for the final certifications. Thanks to it we were able to allocate part of the team onto the expansions. Yes, we have been thinking about it for some time, as with over 250 people on the Witcher team good planning is essential.

Rest assured, there is no hidden agenda or cutting out any content from the game. Both Expansions are being built at this very moment, from the ground up – hence the release dates long after the launch of Wild Hunt. We develop them in-house by the same team, which was working on Wild Hunt. This is the best guarantee we can give you that our goal is to deliver both the story and production values on par with the main game.

Now, on the timing of the announcement - in other words “why now” and not - let’s say – “a few months after the release of Wild Hunt”. The reason is very simple: we want to get the word out about the Expansions to as many gamers as possible out there. There is no better time for it than during the apex of the Marketing & PR campaign of the game. Doing it sometime after the release would mean that our reach would be much smaller.

Yes, we are a business, and yes, we would love to see both the game and the Expansions selling well. Having said that, we always put gamers first and are actually quite paranoid about the fact that whatever we offer is honest, of highest quality, and represents good value for your hard earn buck.

Yes, these are just my words. So let me repeat myself from the original release: if you still have any doubts -- don’t buy the Expansions. Wait for reviews or play The Witcher and see if you like it first. As always, it’s your call.

Cheers,

Marcin
Post edited April 09, 2015 by Destro
Posted April 07, 2015
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Davane: I remember the days when expansions would consist of additional features based on fan feedback that worked to keep the game fresh. It is hard to see how such feedback could be incorporated into such pre-planned DLC.
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JMich: You mean cases like map packs and speech packs? Or how about [url=http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/TNT:_Evilution]selling content that was planned to be free?[/url]
Please, that was only 20 years ago! That's practically NEW! :p
Posted April 07, 2015
The whining and sense of entitlement from so many people in this thread is just astonishing and, quite frankly, a little disgusting. I'm seeing three major complaints from most people:

They announced expansion packs before the game's even out

So what? I could maybe understand the frustration if they announced this sometime early to mid last year, while the game was still in development. But the game is coming out next month and they're already done working on it, aside from testing for bugs and whatnot. What do you expect them to do, sit around and do nothing? They've even said NOT to pre-order the Expansion Pass if you're not sure you want it, and to maybe wait until you play the game before you decide.

They're charging money for it even those they're proponents for free DLC

At no point has CDProjekt RED EVER said that any and all downloadable content (including theirs) should be free. They said it should be priced accordingly and their personal belief is that they would never charge for small things like outfits, weapons, skins and maybe smaller quests. They have, however, said that they would consider charging money for full-blown expansions akin to things like Baldur's Gate II: Tales of the Sword Coast. And guess what? 30 hours for both of these DLCs sound like expansion pack material to me.

Knowing there will be paid expansions in the future means The Witcher 3 is already an incomplete game

Unless these expansions are integral to the plot of The Witcher 3 I fail to see how not buying them would make your game incomplete. These are most likely going to be side stories, nothing needed to fully understand and enjoy The Witcher 3's story.

Like I said, the entitlement I've been seeing in this thread is sickening. If this is enough to make you turn on CDProjekt RED then I say good riddance.
Posted April 07, 2015
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skinandbones13: Has any other game released expansion packs on preorder while the game itself is still on preorder? Who would buy expansion packs to a game they haven't even played yet? Madness if you ask me.
I know it's not exactly the same thing, but some games on Kickstarter offered the option of paying for an expansion before the main game was made.
Posted April 07, 2015
Well the PR worked . It's now on the 3rd place on the " popular " list .
Posted April 07, 2015
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Elmofongo: I thought gamers these days already had that, "Never buy games at launch" mentality?
Those gamers are a minority as you can see from the ^^above post and out of those some had faith that CDPR would do things differently, I guess we probably had that foolish notion because of the previous examples of The Witcher 1 & 2. I also usually wait for complete editions but I was seriously considering preordering Witcher 3 to support CDPR because based on prior experience I believed that similar to the previous Witcher games there will be no extra content sold separately no matter how extensive it ends up being.

Just to be clear by "complete" I mean with anything and everything related to the game not implying that the story in The Witcher 3 wouldn't be a complete experience.
Post edited April 07, 2015 by stg83
Posted April 07, 2015
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ThePunishedSnake: I already bought Witcher 3, a thing that (if you know me) it's very rare for me. Not having a job, what I manage to buy are only games bundled or heavily discounted, (my rule is to buy a digital game only when it's 75% off).
But there are exceptions, rare but there are. My two expections for 2015 are Metal Gear Solid V...and Witcher 3. Because I trusted CDPR on delivering a full, functional product, with no DLC (I hate DLCs). I bought this before the whole crunch mode thing, season pass and graphics downgrade.
Now I don't know what to think, for sure I won't pre-order any CDPR game anymore, even Cyberpunk 2077. I'll wait for the usual 75% off or more.
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darthspudius: uh... you don't have to pre-order the expansion packs.
In fact I won't do it.
Posted April 07, 2015
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bmxjouster: The whining and sense of entitlement from so many people in this thread is just astonishing and, quite frankly, a little disgusting. I'm seeing three major complaints from most people:

They announced expansion packs before the game's even out

So what? I could maybe understand the frustration if they announced this sometime early to mid last year, while the game was still in development. But the game is coming out next month and they're already done working on it, aside from testing for bugs and whatnot. What do you expect them to do, sit around and do nothing? They've even said NOT to pre-order the Expansion Pass if you're not sure you want it, and to maybe wait until you play the game before you decide.

They're charging money for it even those they're proponents for free DLC

At no point has CDProjekt RED EVER said that any and all downloadable content (including theirs) should be free. They said it should be priced accordingly and their personal belief is that they would never charge for small things like outfits, weapons, skins and maybe smaller quests. They have, however, said that they would consider charging money for full-blown expansions akin to things like Baldur's Gate II: Tales of the Sword Coast. And guess what? 30 hours for both of these DLCs sound like expansion pack material to me.

Knowing there will be paid expansions in the future means The Witcher 3 is already an incomplete game

Unless these expansions are integral to the plot of The Witcher 3 I fail to see how not buying them would make your game incomplete. These are most likely going to be side stories, nothing needed to fully understand and enjoy The Witcher 3's story.

Like I said, the entitlement I've been seeing in this thread is sickening. If this is enough to make you turn on CDProjekt RED then I say good riddance.
I am pretty sure the expansions are still in development. This pass is just a means of delivering it to you.

Back than people had to go to stores to see if the expansion came out.

This is what Digital Distribution offers. The game is not incomplete.
Posted April 07, 2015
high rated
WOW! A Season Pass, oops no, Expansion Pass for Witcher 3!? WTF? :-o

Having read some of the previous posts and taken a deep breath and a little time to consider the situation, l have to say that l think CDPR have done themselves a great dis-service by making this any type of ''Pass".

They are in the process of creating two separate, new adventures to be added to their soon to be released game. These are, as they correctly state, expansions to the game and not just cosmetic DLC or extra weapons. What they should have done is marketed them as two separate chapters with their own boxes on the GOG shelves, their own prices and given a discount for pre-ordering both in a similar way to how they discounted Witcher 3 if you owned either or both of the previous games. Lumping them both together and calling it an ''Expansion Pass" is just too similar to the practices of other, less scrupulous companies when it is, all things considered, a different situation.

I won't be cancelling my pre-order (l don't think I could anyway as I gave away my free NWN code!) but given the cost and the fact that Witcher 3 has already been delayed I'll have to seriously consider whether l want to throw more money at an unreleased game.
Posted April 07, 2015
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darthspudius: uh... you don't have to pre-order the expansion packs.
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ThePunishedSnake: In fact I won't do it.
Should still buy the game though, no doubt there will be way more content then we can handle lol.
Posted April 07, 2015
The release dates are far enough to suggest a decent sized expansion, I doubt cut content would take that long to put together anyhow. I think this means more that the game is done and it's probably in testing phase, However it was a mistake to announce it this early and already with a price tag, they have literally dropped the stone on their foot with this.

When this news hits gaming sites it might leave some negative reactions.
Posted April 07, 2015
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bmxjouster: Like I said, the entitlement I've been seeing in this thread is sickening. If this is enough to make you turn on CDProjekt RED then I say good riddance.
I kind of get the feeling that this is more like a sort of grieving process for those still coming to terms with how much the industry has changed in their perception.

It's a bit like seeing a child cry after finding out that Santa Claus isn't real...

The worst part isn't anything to do with CDPR, but the fact that GOG.com WAS GoodOldGames.com and that was a link back to the nostalgia of the games industry which seems to be disappearing more and more by the day.

There's not really much point in turning this into a thread where the "fanboys" and "entitled" exchange snipes over how things ought to be...
Posted April 07, 2015
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bmxjouster: *snip*
...+1!
Posted April 07, 2015
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Vestin: I sincerely believe that people ARE dumb enough to have no beef with the expansion being announced a lot later. In other word - they WOULD rather be lied to. This is understandable and works in other areas of life too. Who wouldn't rather hear "I love you and want to be with you forever!" over "I know that I might get over you in the future (or vice versa), at which point we will break up, but I appreciate the time we've spent together"? Probably only very VERY cynical people :|.
I'm a very cynical person then. :p Luckily life is all about choice.

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Vestin: I made paragraphs and even bolded some spots. Handle it, you goddamn casual ;P.
I usually appreciate your posts but I agree that paragraphs are better than merely a line break or return but you are still in the same paragraph.
Posted April 07, 2015
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mobutu: It's regionally priced as follows (all credits to maGOG http://www.an-ovel.com/pages/magog.php):

$27.69 Australasia (AU)
$20.99 Central and South America (BR)
$19.99 Canada (CA)
$27.29 Non-EU Western Europe (CH)
$28.89 EU Central Europe (CZ)
$27.29 Eurozone (DE)
$29.39 United Kingdom (GB)
$27.29 Norway (NO)
$27.29 Poland (PL)
$16.69 Russia (RU)
$27.29 Sweden (SE)
$15.59 Ukraine (UA)
$16.69 Nine Former Soviet Republics (UZ)
Wait, it's more expensive in the Czech Republic than in Switzerland? How exactly does that make sense???
Post edited April 07, 2015 by PaterAlf
Posted April 07, 2015
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bmxjouster: Like I said, the entitlement I've been seeing in this thread is sickening. If this is enough to make you turn on CDProjekt RED then I say good riddance.
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Davane: I kind of get the feeling that this is more like a sort of grieving process for those still coming to terms with how much the industry has changed in their perception.

It's a bit like seeing a child cry after finding out that Santa Claus isn't real...

The worst part isn't anything to do with CDPR, but the fact that GOG.com WAS GoodOldGames.com and that was a link back to the nostalgia of the games industry which seems to be disappearing more and more by the day.

There's not really much point in turning this into a thread where the "fanboys" and "entitled" exchange snipes over how things ought to be...
This is not as annoying as the whole Angry Joe Nintendo Youtube debacle. Something I think gamers complaints about are more annoying then Nintendo's copyright striking a video.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionAnnouncing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass(1100 posts)(1100 posts)
(1100 posts)