Witcher dev responds to criticisms over paid DLC
Earlier today, it was announced that Witcher 3 will be receiving two very large DLC expansions, an expansion pass available for pre-order. While this comes as no surprise for a large AAA game in today’s industry, some fans were thrown by the announcement.Back in January, CD Project Red, the polish developer behind the Witcher games announced 16 pieces of free DLC, stating, “Yeah, we are making a statement… We, as gamers, would like to be treated this way, 'Hey, give me free DLC.' It doesn't have to be something huge. And I'm saying we aren't giving out huge stuff, we aren't giving tens of hours of storyline here, we are giving small bits of pieces that don't cost a lot. And I think people would feel better about our game, and, so, they will enjoy the adventure even more.”
Earlier today, it was announced that Witcher 3 will be receiving two very large DLC expansions, an expansion pass available for pre-order. While this comes as no surprise for a large AAA game in today’s industry, some fans were thrown by the announcement.
Back in January, CD Project Red, the polish developer behind the Witcher games announced 16 pieces of free DLC, stating, “Yeah, we are making a statement… We, as gamers, would like to be treated this way, ‘Hey, give me free DLC.’ It doesn’t have to be something huge. And I’m saying we aren’t giving out huge stuff, we aren’t giving tens of hours of storyline here, we are giving small bits of pieces that don’t cost a lot. And I think people would feel better about our game, and, so, they will enjoy the adventure even more.”
While today’s announcement, was in fact for ‘tens of hours of storyline,’ CD Project Red still recognizes the problem, especially with DLC you can buy before the game is even out. In the post detailing the two expansions on the game’s official website, a quote was added from the studio co-founder, Marcin Iwinski, saying, “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.”
Of course, it is open to debate whether or not releasing a pre-order for the content at all is simply part of the problem, regardless of Iwinski’s statement. But even then, a stark contrast to the heavy push on DLC pre-orders we are used to seeing, it is refreshing to hear such gamer-minded advice, even if it is likely to be ignored.
What do you think of CD Project Red saying to wait for the reviews? Will you wait or have you already pre-ordered? Let us know in the comments.