Want The Witcher 3 to Be Good? Then Wait Until 2015

In a lengthy open letter posted on Tuesday, CD Projekt Red announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will not be released in Fall 2014 as originally planned, but will hit the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in February 2015. The reason? The game just won't be good enough if the studio keeps the 2014 release date.

"We recently reexamined what we had achieved thus far, and faced a choice about the game's final release date," the studio writes. "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."

The studio even reaches out to shareholders, saying that the team is aware of the responsibility that's on their shoulders, and thanks the investors for their continued trust. "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 letter states.

CD Projekt Red explains in the letter that it wants The Witcher 3 to be its crowning achievement after spending 11 years creating RPGs. The team is shooting to create an unforgettable adventure to experience what takes place in a vast, open world.

"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," the letter states. "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."

To read the full letter, head here. While the news may be disappointing, the delay doesn't look too drastic. Fans would presumably want the developer to take extra time spit-shining the game rather than rushing it out the door half-baked.

  • Blaise170
    I'd much rather a company spend extra time developing a game than rushing it and releasing an unpolished, buggy mess. Too often we see developers being rushed by their parent companies (Electronic Arts is a great example) and I can only shudder at the end results.
    Reply
  • knowom
    Great decision no reason to rush it out a poor release can do more damage than good.Ironically and tragically Diablo 3 is a example of a rushed game despite how long the game was in development they clearly didn't have a big enough, bright enough, or efficient enough development team.Diablo 3 got rushed out the door about a year to early had they waited 1 more year the whole experience would have been greatly improved on the players end. The game only now is starting to become the game people originally envisioned the launched game was intended to be. The end result is mixed a lot of people out right will avoid the expansion though plenty will still purchase it. I'm leaning towards not purchasing it myself, but if the game had launched better the opposite would likely be true I'd probably be more confident about it for me the initial launch woes are still fresh in my mind however.
    Reply
  • someguynamedmatt
    I salute these guys for not rushing out a game just to hit the holiday season rush. I'm really getting tired of seeing half-baked console ports thrown out at every hope of making a few extra dollars on them. The Witcher 2 was an EXCELLENT game, and I really do look forward to playing TW3 after everything I've heard about it, and especially now that I'm assured they're putting the same amount of work into it as its predecessor.
    Reply
  • nitrium
    I much prefer it delayed. Indeed, I don't really understand why game studio's announce a release date in the first place - I guess it's all part of the hype machine, and of course pre-orders (something else I don't understand the point of in the age of digital distribution). "When it's done" is a good enough release date for me.
    Reply
  • sc14s
    I'd much rather a company spend extra time developing a game than rushing it and releasing an unpolished, buggy mess. Too often we see developers being rushed by their parent companies (Electronic Arts is a great example) and I can only shudder at the end results.
    I'd much rather a company spend extra time developing a game than rushing it and releasing an unpolished, buggy mess. Too often we see developers being rushed by their parent companies (Electronic Arts is a great example) and I can only shudder at the end results.
    Activision is another one to throw into that bunch tbh
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    Good. I have enough games for now and I want Witcher 3 to be kickass. Let them work on it some more.
    Reply
  • Mike Stewart
    well thats just GREAT ! that means Cyberpunk 2077 will be out in 2016..... does anyone here got a time machine ?
    Reply
  • Mike Stewart
    well thats just GREAT ! that mean Cyberpunk 2077 will be out in 2016..... does anyone here got a time machine.
    Reply
  • Morbus
    They can spend all the time they want polishing the game, it won't do them any good if it's a turd like Witcher 2...
    Reply
  • gudomlig
    finally a gaming studio that recognizes the true value of quality vs promptness. witcher 2 was a great game and by their own admission they want witcher 3 to be even better. i for one would gladly wait a few more months for a better game, but i guess in this age of instant gratification not everyone would agree.
    Reply