CD Projekt just unveiled their launch plans for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in a live presentation that finished about an hour ago. The highly anticipated fantasy role-playing game will not only see two expansive retail packages when it comes out on May 17th 2011, but is now also available for pre-order on various digital distribution platforms at a 10% discount. But the most surprising revelation has to be the fact that The Witcher 2 can now be pre-ordered from CD Projekt’s own popular digital distribution site Good Old Games – and that version is packed with additional goodies, some of which are available immediately after pre-ordering!
These various editions of the game are all covered in detail below. Some gameplay footage was also shown, but this unfortunately turned out to be a re-airing of the “prison scene” gameplay footage that was revealed a few months ago. This still looks very impressive, with a detailed examination of how non-linear the storytelling is in this sequel and a massive battle scene at the end that demonstrates a truly state-of-the-art graphics engine, but it would’ve been nice to see something new.
CD Projekt doesn’t like to do normal game releases with simple DVD cases and miniature ‘manuals’ that are really nothing more than self-important quickstart guides. Instead they pack their game boxes with goodies in an effort to entice people to purchase the game, rather than relying on punishing DRM, and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be no different. The standard version that you pay a normal retail price for is suitably dubbed the “Premium Edition” as it comes packed with extra stuff:
- “Making of” video
- The official soundtrack on CD
- Printed map of the game world
- Printed game guide.
- Two papercraft figures.
- Pamphlet and coin presenting a unique in-game item.
- Store-specific in-game DLC ranging from secret merchants to special suits of armor.
And there’s also a Collector’s Edition for sale that includes all of the above, but adds some crazy collector items that are all its own. There’s a huge price difference between the two, however, nearly 60 euro in fact, which places this CE in the “ridiculously exaggerated” camp along with the largest Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo: Reach collector versions. This is what’s included for the 60 euro premium:
- 200 page artbook
- Sculpture of Geralt (a seemingly 1:1 size bust really)
- Dice set based on the poker game we all know from the original
- Playing cards & guide
- Three stickers
- One Temerian Oren (a recreation of the coins used in the game world)
The Witcher 2 promises a larger and more open world with beautiful and varied environments
Digital Witchering
Those retail versions are all well and good, but The Witcher 2 also comes in digital pre-order form. The game is now available over at GamersGate, Impulse and Steam at a 10% pre-order discount. That Steam version is particularly interesting for its inclusion of Steam Cloud saving (synchronizing save games and game settings across your account) and Steam Achievements. And this digital version includes its share of goodies as well:
- “Making of” video
- The official soundtrack in MP3 format
- Map in PDF format
- Game guide in PDF format
- Two papercraft figures in PDF format
- PDF Pamphlet representing a unique in-game item
- In-game DLC (unclear what kind at this point)
The prison gameplay footage alone should be enough to convert any RPG fan to The Witcher 2
The Good Old Witcher – Ultimate Edition
A new game being released on Good Old Games is already something special, but this The Witcher 2 pre-order really is something else. It may not include quite as many bonus items as the physical Collector’s Edition, but it’s certainly the next best thing and actually offers far more concrete value for gamers. And most ridiculously this version is priced exactly the same as the other digital editions, but also comes with a “fair price package” which means that while European and British customers pay more for the game than Americans, they get a return on that price premium in the form of GOG.com store credit equal to the extra cost!
- 10% off the standard retail price at 44,99 EUR. And the funds are only deducted upon release.
- Fair Price Package. European customers receive $16 USD GOG.com store credit and British customers receive $6 USD store credit. That’s several ‘free’ games!
- One free GOG.com RPG when The Witcher 2 is released. Gamers can choose between: Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity, Gothic 2, Realms of Arkania 1 + 2 and Realms of Arkania 3.
- A completely DRM free version of The Witcher 2 that can be downloaded and installed an infinite number of times.
- Standard GOG.com goodies available immediately after pre-ordering (that means right now!) including 10 avatars, 10 wallpapers, 4 exclusive music tracks not included in the game and a 19 photo tour of the CD Projekt RED studio.
- All the bonus content included in the other Digital Premium Editions.
- A PDF version of the 200 page artbook included in the retail Collector’s Edition.
That’s a great deal regardless of where you’re from. It includes several (2 (US) to 4 (EU)) games for the price of one along with more goodies than are present in any of the other premium editions and a DRM free copy of the most promising fantasy RPG of 2011!
Needless to say, my GOG.com pre-order is already in.
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