CD Projekt RED have just announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will pick up two massive expansions to compliment the already massive base game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is reported to be larger than Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and carries 200+ hours of content for completionists. For those who find themselves wanting even more, late 2015 and early 2016 will see the release of Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine respectively, each adding playtime in the double digits for what CD Projekt RED hope will challenge the tiny DLCs offered by some of their competitors.
CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwiński praised the future content packs and outlined his hopes that Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine would offer better value for gamers.
"With the development of Wild Hunt coming to an end, the team has embarked on the creation of two new really big adventures set in The Witcher universe. We remember the time when add-on disks truly expanded games by delivering meaningful content. As gamers, we'd like to bring that back. 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 our expansions offer more hours of gameplay than quite a few standalone games out there."
The press release describes the expansions in this way:
"Hearts of Stone will take Geralt on an all-new, 10-hour-plus adventure into the wilds of No Man's Land and the nooks and alleys of Oxenfurt, where he'll try to complete a contract from the mysterious Man of Glass. Caught in a thick tangle of deceit, Geralt will need all his cunning and strength to solve the mystery and emerge unscathed."
"Blood and Wine, a 20-hour-plus tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint, will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret."
Fans may recall that CD Projekt RED have previously announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would pick up 16 separate DLCs for free, and may be confused why the prolific Polish developer has opted to offer a paid Expansion Pass as well.
Iwiński urges sceptical fans to wait for reviews before jumping in:
"While we're offering the Expansion Pass now, we want to make one thing clear: 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."
CD Projekt RED's commitment to take back the meaning of 'expansion' from certain other companies lacklustre efforts (looking at you Destiny) will likely win the loyalty of many fans. As an existing fan, I know I'm all in!
Hearts of Stone will debut October 2015 while Blood and Wine is slated for Q1 2016. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available for Xbox One, PC, and PS4 on May 19th, 2015.
