Bad news on the next-gen gaming front as one of the most anticipated titles slated to appear on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2014 has been delayed until next year. Developers CD Projekt have announced that the monster-slaying RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won't be released until February of 2015.
The Polish developers made a surprise announcement today stating that they have chosen to move the game's release date back nearly a full year to improve the quality of the game and release the best product possible. CD Projekt apologized to the fans and explained the situation in the following statement:
"Release Date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - An Open Letter
Ever since we started working on the third installment in The Witcher franchise, it has been our aim to produce a title that would take our 11 years of experience in creating RPGS and distill them into a quintessence, into a game that would effectively crown those years. At the same time, we have wanted The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to expand creative boundaries, set new benchmarks, develop the genre as a whole. Ultimately, you, the players, must get an unforgettable adventure to experience in a vast, open world - and that's most important. We've created a story that flows naturally, cinematically, rendered it in amazing sound and visuals, while preserving full freedom of choice - all for you. We knew this to be an ambitious plan, but believed we could achieve it by bringing together our team with its creative energies and current gaming platforms with their technical capabilities. A project this vast and complex would inevitably require special care in its final stages, manual fine-tuning of many details, thorough testing time and again.
We recently reexamined what we had achieved thus far, and faced a choice about the game's final release date. The decision we made was difficult, thoroughly considered, and ultimately clear and obvious. We could have released the game towards the end of this year as we had initially planned. Yet we concluded that a few additional months will let us achieve the quality that will satisfy us, the quality gamers expect from us. Consequently, we have set the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for February 2015.
Dear gamers - we know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even. We're sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment.
Dear shareholders - we are aware of the responsibility that rests with us and thank you for the trust you have granted us thus far. We firmly believe that quality - more than any other factor - determines a game's success, and that the decision we have made is thus equally valid in business terms.
-The Board of CD PROJEKT S.A."
It's disappointing news for sure, but you can't criticize what really comes across as a sincere desire to release a higher quality product. They could have released it as planned, but risked angering the fans and financial gains to make sure it's as good as expected.
I love the Witcher series and am excited to play this game, but respect their decision to make eliminate as many bugs and glitches as possible, tweak the graphics, and balance the gameplay. We'll no doubt hear and see more of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as the new release date of February 2015 approaches.