Good lord, is that the time already? It's been ten years since the release of the first installment of The Witcher franchise - and to celebrate, CD Projekt RED have made a special Witcher anniversary video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgqz8Je7P0s
It's a great little video. Geralt's having a birthday party and has invited characters from across all of the games. He reminisces on your shared adventures in a voiceover before the video comes face-to-face with the main man himself. In a wonderful little moment of fourth wall breaking, he addresses the viewer directly, thanking them for what they've done for him, and that although it's his birthday, it's the viewer who deserves a toast.
Even for someone like me, who hasn't played The Witcher beyond a few hours of the first game (and damn, I really need to spend more time with it), it's a touching moment, and it's clearly an acknowledgement from the developers straight to the players who helped make this franchise into what it is today.
Based on a series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher was originally released in October 2007 on the PC, with the first game laying many of the foundations that later games would expand upon. While it didn't set the world on fire, the first game was enjoyed by critics and picked up a cult following, who loved it for its strong focus on storytelling and utterly immersive world-building. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings continued that trend in May of 2011 with a very strong showing, also bringing the game to consoles for the first time, slimming down the extraneous RPG elements, while still keeping a strong core. CD Projekt RED topped that experience in May 2015 with The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Widely hailed one of gaming's great classic titles. We utterly adored it, giving it a perfect ten, calling it a game that will have a massive impact on gaming as a whole.
Interestingly, the next move for CD Projekt RED was a Witcher-based collectible card game. After the massive success of the Gwent card game in The Witcher 3, CD Projekt RED began work on a standalone Gwent game for PC, Xbox One, and the PS4. Check it out - there's a public beta on right now, and you can read more about it in our Gwent articles.
Happy ten years to The Witcher. Long may the monster-slaying series continue!
What are your favorite memories of The Witcher? Do you have any plans for The Witcher anniversary? Swap war stories and favorite moments and characters in the comments below.
