E3: Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf "Still in the Fridge"

[Tom Goldman]

E3: Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf "Still in the Fridge"

Sorry Witcher fans, Rise of the White Wolf is not at E3.

CD Projekt teased [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110350-CD-Projekt-Unveiling-Brand-New-Witcher-Project-at-E3] that it was bringing a new Witcher game to E3, leading to speculation that previously announced and shelved console title Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf would be making a comeback. Sadly, it's not.

Not yet, anyway. In a Q&A session at E3 2011, CD Projekt admitted that Rise of the White Wolf isn't even being worked on. The company's exact words were that the game is "still in the fridge."

Which means it's not dead, but resources are being allocated to other areas until perhaps a later date. Areas such as Witcher 2 for the Xbox 360 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/3382-The-Witcher-2-Xbox-360-Teaser], which is a big focus for the company at this point in time.

If things work out with Witcher 2, perhaps we'll see Rise of the White Wolf rise again on consoles in the near to distant future. By the way PS3 fans, CD Projekt also spoke of bringing Witcher 2 to the PS3, saying it'd "love to," but that it's still too early to make an announcement.

See all our coverage directly from the show floor. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/e3_2011]

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[Soviet Heavy]

So the new game is still up in the air? Getting a 360 port of W2 isn't "Brand New", so I'm still curious.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I'm really itching for another good RPG, but I have to be patient. Good that they're doing it one at a time, this means it will turn out well.

 

[Valagetti]

I hate when they say they're thinking of making a game. When they haven't even started. Grrr it pisses me off, because the Witcher 2 cuts it self out at the end, story wise. And its crazy, the game is long as fuck... And I'm just itching for some more Witcher on blue stripe action!

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I hate when they say they're thinking of making a game. When they haven't even started. Grrr it pisses me off, because the Witcher 2 cuts it self out at the end, story wise. And its crazy, the game is long as fuck... And I'm just itching for some more Witcher on blue stripe action!

So... what you're saying here is that you didn't get to bang Ves often enough in The Witcher 2? I guess I can agree with that sentiment!

But seriously, I don't think the story "cut out" so much as it neatly resolved itself while also setting in motion a series of events that we all kind of really want to see now - it isn't technically a cliffhanger though (or at least if you take the time to ensure that Geralt approaches the end-game reasonably informed it isn't a cliffhanger, I've been told that it's possible to rush through things and not have a lot of questions resolved by the end; and of course you could always pick the top dialog option and end up not getting any questions answered, but they color-code those responses for a reason).

With that said, I am practically chomping at the bit for the inevitable sequel (or expansion pack, my brain instantly latched onto that word when they announced that DLC would be free, barring a full-on expansion pack - why mention that specifically unless you have intentions of making one?) because damn did they ever shake things up. Hopefully it shouldn't take them quite as long to make as this one did either since they already have the RED engine now, just need to develop the content itself rather than the entire system from the ground up.

On (the) topic (of this thread specifically): It's a shame that Rise of the White Wolf originally fell through, because it leaves CDProjekt in the position of marketing a sequel to a game the console demographic probably never played. I'm really hoping that the 360 port of #2 works out for them because I want them to, you know, make money which they can then spend making more awesome Witcher stuff, but they're coming into a market where they don't really have an established brand identity to capitalize on; not to mention their stated release window coincides with the launch of a major multi-platform RPG that everyone and their dog seems to think will be the second coming (even though Bethsada's track record hardly supports that level of enthusiasm).

Plus it would be kind of weird to release a port of your original game after a port of the sequel to it, usually it works the other way around - plus people tend to think chronologically so instead of comparing the sequel to the original and seeing how much they've improved (most) of the mechanics, they'd be comparing the original against the sequel and that is a much less favorable comparison. It is interesting that the project hasn't been declared definitively dead though, I don't think anyone really thought there was any chance it was ever getting made.

 

[Alucard788]

Am i the only person who read "Rise of the White Wolf" and imagined Elric of Melniboné having an epic fight with Geralt?

Ok perhaps that was just me...

 

[Sartan0]

I hate when they say they're thinking of making a game. When they haven't even started. Grrr it pisses me off, because the Witcher 2 cuts it self out at the end, story wise. And its crazy, the game is long as fuck... And I'm just itching for some more Witcher on blue stripe action!

Has a cliff hanger, eh? At least the game has at least two or three play through as I see it.