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CD Projekt RED - Mobile game announcing "very soon", out 2014, Witcher 3 dev status

boskee

Member
CD Projekt released their financial report in which they announced that they are working on a mobile game and provided more information on the status of TW3:

Done:

- Dialogue lines are closed & implemented
- They are currently recording voice overs for each language version of the game
- The world of the game is completed - locations are finished, all important gameplay mechanics are already implemented
- Graphic assets and animations are nearing completion
- The game can already be played in full
- REDengine 3 supports all 3 platforms
- The physical elements of the collector's edition are in production

What's left:

- Implementation of the remaining side quests
- Importing voice overs and testing their quality/changing them
- Gameplay testing and balancing
- Continuous work on improving the quality of graphic assets, animations, effects and sounds - this will last until just before going gold
- REDengine3 optimization

The reasoning behind 2015 release:

- Less competition
- Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers.
- Better polished game: the last 20% of time stands for 80% of the game's attractiveness.
- More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Source (in polish) - slides 32-34

Plans for 2014:

- Witcher comics - digital and paper
- Continuous intensive marketing action for TW3
- Witcher 3 preorders
- Release of The Witcher Adventure Game (board game) - Q3 2014
- 2 mobile titles: The Witcher Adventure Game and a new multiplatform project.
- Together with an external development studio we are working multiplatform mobile game, which uses advanced features of tablets and smartphones
- We are entering a completely new territory, both in terms of gameplay and business model
- Work on the project began over a year ago, independently from TW3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
- The game will be announced together with beta sign-up.
- Commercial release this year.

(Slides 37-38)
 

3bdelilah

Banned
There aren't really people who thought it would release this fall, right? Right??

I expected as much. Heck, I kinda expect another (albeit not like this) delay to give it the finishing touch.
 

boskee

Member
Further info from the presentation:

Plans for 2014:

- Witcher comics - digital and paper
- Continuous intensive marketing action for TW3
- Witcher 3 preorders
- Release of The Witcher Adventure Game (board game) - Q3 2014
- 2 mobile titles: The Witcher Adventure Game and a new multiplatform project.
- Together with an external development studio we are working multiplatform mobile game, which uses advanced features of tablets and smartphones
- We are entering a completely new territory, both in terms of gameplay and business model
- Work on the project began over a year ago, independently from TW3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
- The game will be announced together with beta sign-up.
- Commercial release this year.

(Slides 37-38)
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Split bump. Thank you boskee.
 
- Less competition

I don't know about that, 2015 is the year of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment:tides of Numenera, all of them have the same target audience as The Witcher 3.
If anything,the competition will be bigger.

- More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Those are bad news. It means they are focusing on the console audience this time and not on pc like the previous two games.
 

BigTnaples

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Sweet. Polish it up and make it as good as it can possibly be.


Give us Next Gen wolf fur on PS4.
 

BigDug13

Member
I don't know about that, 2015 is the year of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment:tides of Numenera, all of them have the same target audience as The Witcher 3.
If anything,the competition will be bigger.



Those are bad news. It means they are focusing on the console audience this time and not on pc like the previous two games.

Well I've never heard of any of those, but I have heard of The Witcher. So there's that. I think they don't want to compete with the many games coming fall/winter of this year outside of this particular genre. Like The Order, Destiny, Halo 2, etc.
 

Jack cw

Member
Pretty reasonable and plausible arguments. I love CDP and the way they handle things with us. By the time Dragon Age Inquisition is done, Witcher 3 is getting released. Sweet!
 

RulkezX

Member
I don't know about that, 2015 is the year of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment:tides of Numenera, all of them have the same target audience as The Witcher 3.
If anything,the competition will be bigger.



Those are bad news. It means they are focusing on the console audience this time and not on pc like the previous two games.

Or they actually need to make money and can't afford to wait for the PC crowd to buy it ( in big numbers) when it's £5 on Steam.
 

Danneee

Member
Less competition? Really?

I appreciate the extra time for optimization though, something that is rare these days.
 

erawsd

Member
I don't know about that, 2015 is the year of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment:tides of Numenera, all of them have the same target audience as The Witcher 3.
If anything,the competition will be bigger.

Competition for best RPG, sure. However, I doubt they are concerned about a handful of indy games as marketplace competition.
 
I don't know about that, 2015 is the year of Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment:tides of Numenera, all of them have the same target audience as The Witcher 3.
If anything,the competition will be bigger.

That's only their PC audience. For consoles they'll have next to no competition early 2015. There's also still possible that Dragon Age: Inquisition is coming out in the fall so they might have had to go up against that on all 3 platforms, but at this point I'm expecting a 2015 release for DA:I
 

Ikuu

Had his dog run over by Blizzard's CEO
Probably waiting for people to buy and then be disappointed with Dragon Age and want a good RPG.
 
I feel like those are the real reasons. The extra time for polish is just a bonus.

Yeah, but extra polish is always a good thing, especially in a game like this. We all want this to be a huge success for CDPR so if they think that release date will give them better sales so be it.
 
Marketing campaign bullet point just sounds like they don't want to go up against EA on DA marketing. Repeat of the competition bullet point.

Those are bad news. It means they are focusing on the console audience this time and not on pc like the previous two games.

Some of the list is the actual reasons for delaying. Others are merely benefits. I think this is one.

Probably waiting for people to buy and then be disappointed with Dragon Age and want a good RPG.

Yes, banking on your competitions failures sounds like a solid business plan.
 

Sub Zero

his body's cold as ice, but he's got a heart of gold
I hope they focus on optimization as much as they can. TW2 despite being one of my favorite RPGs is a terribly unoptimized mess. They should get rid of this horrible Ubersampling option
 
The reasoning behind 2015 release:
- Less competition
- Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers.
- Better polished game: the last 20% of time stands for 80% of the game's attractiveness.
- More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Source (in polish) - slides 32-34
Sounds like they could have made it time without too much trouble, and the main reason for the delay are business-related.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Sounds good to me. If they can afford the extra dev time to just tweak the game to make it look prettier and run better I am all for it. A Q1 or Q2 release would be great. We need to break up this idea of Q4 being the big release time, so more big games that release outside then the better.
 

Seronei

Member
I hope they focus on optimization as much as they can. TW2 despite being one of my favorite RPGs is a terribly unoptimized mess. They should get rid of this horrible Ubersampling option

You're the reason we don't experimental graphic options anymore. Just turn it off maybe?
 

boskee

Member
So those two side titles they mentioned earlier were for mobiles? Darn. Oh well. May give them a chance, though.

I don't think they are. Cracow studio is working on a "smaller" 20 hour long game and at least one mobile game is apparently developed by an external dev. Last I heard The Witcher Adventure Game was also handled by an external studio.
 

Sub Zero

his body's cold as ice, but he's got a heart of gold
You're the reason we don't experimental graphic options anymore. Just turn it off maybe?

Have you tried playing it with Ubersampling off? I don't know if it's just my PC, but the game looks horrible without it.
 

Yonafunu

Member
I love how open and transparant CDPR is with stuff like this. I was bummed about the delay, but hearing them explain it without any excuses or vagueness is refreshing.
 

Sanke__

Member
I like this one:
"Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers. "

Good for you CD Projekt Red

I really need to figure out how to buy stocks on the Warsaw stock exchange
 

GeoGonzo

Member
I actually really enjoy reading a reasonable and honest reason for a delay, kudos to them.

Those are bad news. It means they are focusing on the console audience this time and not on pc like the previous two games.
Not necessarily, it could simply be a legitimate secondary concern. And in the meantime more people will upgrade their GPUs so the PC audience grows too.

In Witcher threads I can never tell who is making puns and who is being completely serious, so I play it safe and smile at pretty much every mention of the word "polish"
 

boskee

Member
Oh one more important information from the presentation: CDPR has sold over 7 million copies or The Witcher 1 & 2 worldwide.

Another note-worthy information is that the distribution agreements with Warner Bros and Namco cover only physical copies of the game. CD Projekt Red will distribute the digital version worldwide.
 

UrbanRats

Member
The reasoning behind 2015 release:

- Less competition
- Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers.
- Better polished game: the last 20% of time stands for 80% of the game's attractiveness.
- More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Source (in polish) - slides 32-34
I appreciate the honesty here.
Seems reasonable, and i hope they polish some of the animations, since the leaked gameplay a bunch of months ago had running and jumping animations that were kind of rigid.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
This is a second mobile game separate from the digital board game adaptation.

Eurogamer said:
The mobile game has been in development for a year by a standalone team, I was told, and an official announcement is going to happen "very soon". It will coincide with the launch of a beta test.

"Smartphones and tablets are truly powerful platforms these days and are finally giving us the ability to develop mobile games we would like to play ourselves; games that are taking full advantage of newest smartphone and tablet technologies, and offer the quality level that we, as a studio, are always aiming to achieve," co-founder Adam Kiciński added.
Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-18-witcher-dev-cd-projekt-announces-mobile-game

Perhaps at GDC?
 

Nzyme32

Member
Interesting that GOG has announced Linux support. Considering Android, I wonder if they would stretch to mobile as well or even stretching the Witcher 3 on Linux.
 

PFD

Member
Goddamn, every time I remember this is delayed until 2015 I get sad. Hopefully the iPad board game is decent, and w/e that other mobile game turns out to be

Any clue on the development status of Cyberpunk 2077?

All I know is it's a completely separate team from the Witcher
 
I'm actually quite pleased.. let the game be as good as it possibly can be. It is going to be great... and I guess they'll move some people across to Cyberpunk in order to help that progress... 2 CDPR games in one year!
 
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