CD Projekt RED has issued a statement following the less then desirable reaction to the Xbox One version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt obtaining some exclusive items in its version of the collectors edition. Nevermind the fact that Microsoft has heavily promoted The Witcher 3 at every event, including E3 and Gamescom.
Looking at the heated comments, I believe that our announcement of the physical addition of two decks of Gwent cards and a cloth map, requires a further word from us.
Here at CD Projekt Red, we always put gamers first. Our PC versions are released DRM-free, we bend over backwards to give you the most beefed up editions of our games (be it standard or Collector’s), and we deliver the same game, regardless of platform or version you buy. Moreover, we promised not have any exclusive DLCs, neither per platform nor per retailer, and we do stand by our promise–nothing has changed, nor will change in this regard.
Don’t get me wrong, I do understand that these extra items might be desirable for Witcher fans playing the game on other platforms. However, as we are not offering any platform or retail exclusive DLCs or any other form of gameplay differentiation, we do have to find other ways to support our partners. We are also providing special pre-order items for certain retailers around the world, including Witcher comic books, posters, steel books or medallions. Funnily enough, we did not notice any heated comments on the pre-order specials.
What is the reason? Why are we doing this? We need the support of partners to make our game visible worldwide. This should hopefully translate to better sales, which will in consequence allow us to do what we have been doing for the last 10 years, i.e. reinvest this money to make more great RPGs, while still sticking to our values.
If you still consider that adding two decks of Gwent cards and a map of the in-game world to the Xbox One CE equals us betraying our values and not fulfilling our promises, well, it does make us sad, but the final call is always yours to make.
Still, I do hope that what we offer is unique and we can ask you to give us the benefit of the doubt. We have more great things to announce for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the coming months and I promise you won’t be disappointed (yes, yes, there are no more exclusives coming).
I have nothing to say on this subject at this time so I’ll just leave you with CD Projekt RED’s statement and get back to you another time when I feel like discussing how annoying situations like this are becoming with the gaming community. As with the Tomb Raider blog post announcing the exclusivity of the game for Xbox One, I’d avoid the comments on The Witcher 3 Facebook page at this point in time to save yourself from endlessly shaking your head.
We’ll be sure to continue covering all the latest on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt so be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date.
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CD Projekt Red. If you didn't want people to bitch about how you're giving exclusive content to one platform. There's one simple way to avoid this. Don't talk bs to the public and say you're creating a content parity game when you're not. No one would have said anything if you didn't open your mouth and spew that bs PR speak.
