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[Miles Quaritch]

If those length estimates are even close to accurate... CDPR can clear my damn wallet out.

Sign me the hell up and then some. This is how you do DLC.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

I had no problem paying for Frozen Throne or Lord of Destruction back in the day, so I'm all for paying for DLC if it's substantial.

 

[I H8 Memes]

Everyone has always loved traditional expansion content. It was always a great value for the price and everyone always welcomed it. It's a shame that expansion content/DLC and gaming in general has reached a place where CDPR need to come out and carefully explain what their DLC is because people now associate expansion content with being ripped off.

 

[Tacitus_]

Are you really surprised? When I think expansions, I think of ones for old school PC games. Not exactly something a lot of people around here have experience with as opposed to consoles and your average DLC.

Nah, I was implying that, but I felt it was a bit too antagonistic to flat out state it myself.

 

[Wagram]

It's hard to complain if they do offer 30 hours total worth of new content. They aren't asking for $30 to give players 2 hours of new content. So I think this is alright, plus I love that they come out and state to wait for reviews.

 

[brickarts295]

This is a thread worth saving for future references for when ever another game studio announces expansion packs before release. You know, for comparison sakes.
But for now, I'll wait and see.

 

[jim2point0]

This is pretty much a non-issue if you're like me and you wait til you've completed a game before even considering DLC

When I've played The Witcher 3 to death and I still find I want MORE, I'll start thinking about this expansion pass

This is a thread worth saving for future references for when ever another game studio announces expansion packs before release.
But for now, I'll wait and see.

I hope in a good way. From the sounds of it, this seems like it would actually be worth the money.... unlike some other season passes *cough* Borderlands TSP *cough*

 

[Lil'DigiOp]

This is how I feel too. They should have waited before announcing this.

Are you kidding me? Its called marketing. They are showing everyone they plan to support the game even further past release date.

It says it right there in the press release! If you're skeptical, wait until reviews and impressions hit before buying the content! One of the team members says that himself!!!

Did you even read the press release?

 

[Shredderi]

They didn't lie at all

QFT

 

[WyndhamPrice]

I don't understand why people are so wigged out about them announcing this ahead of time. You'll have 6 months to figure out if you even like Witcher 3 to know if you want to go in on an expansion or not.

 

[cormack12]

I don't understand the 16 DLC items free to everyone part. If everyone is getting them and they are free, why are they DLC? Why not just include them with the game? Will they be available at launch? I actually think it would be cool, if they asked the community for suggestions/designs for free DLC and then they wrked on them/released them afterwards.

Aside from that, if the game is good I'll probably bite at the expansions (just like WoW expansion packs etc.) like I will when Hakkon comes to PS4.

 

[Alucrid]

I don't understand the 16 DLC items free to everyone part. If everyone is getting them and they are free, why are they DLC? Why not just include them with the game? Will they be available at launch? I actually think it would be cool, if they asked the community for suggestions/designs for free DLC and then they wrked on them/released them afterwards.

Aside from that, if the game is good I'll probably bite at the expansions (just like WoW expansion packs etc.) like I will when Hakkon comes to PS4.

retention

 

[anexanhume]

GameStop advised every publisher to do this because they're super good at selling season passes to people at launch.

This is why every game has one announced before release.

This is an interesting strategy because it incentivizes people to not trade in their games.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

If only more developers were this up front...

“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,” Iwiński concludes.

CDPR can literally do no wrong.

 

[Lil'DigiOp]

They didn't lie at all

This shit needs to be on the OP before the "shitstorm" starts rolling downhill

 

[McDougles]

The first of the two sounds very much like "typical DLC" to me.

Refresh my memory, for I'm not one that versed in DLC: what other games' DLC last 10+ hours, provide new gear, characters and quests and don't call them expansions? Because the first thing that comes to mind, recently, is Skyrim, and they did call them expansions.

 

[DR2K]

witcher 3 is going to be a very big and meaty game on its own. No need for expansions or DLC really, if they're good I'll buy em.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Indeed. At least wait until launch day to reveal this stuff. You're asking-- begging-- for a negative reaction when you announce stuff like this well in advance of release.

If the timing of the announcement is going to solicit ill-informed knee-jerk reactions, shouldn't we put the blame on the ill-informed knee-jerk reactors, and not the announcers who are only following the reasoning that they previously laid out clearly.

Can I ask what differences does it make to the content, development or release of the expansions if they announced them today, release day or 2 months after the main game's release?

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I don't understand the 16 DLC items free to everyone part. If everyone is getting them and they are free, why are they DLC? Why not just include them with the game? Will they be available at launch? I actually think it would be cool, if they asked the community for suggestions/designs for free DLC and then they wrked on them/released them afterwards.

Aside from that, if the game is good I'll probably bite at the expansions (just like WoW expansion packs etc.) like I will when Hakkon comes to PS4.

Playerbase retention. Releasing them in a piecemeal fashion keeps people coming back to see what the new stuff is each week and to keep progressing in the game.

 

[Wagram]

Is there a place I can purchase both the expansion pass plus the physical copy of The Witcher 3? on PC.

 

[brickarts295]

retention

Whats the point of retention when they claim the game will take 200+ hours to complete? I doubt the majority of people will beat it within the first 2 weeks.

 

[Lunar15]

They definitely didn't lie, their original statement lines up with what they're doing. However, they're definitely splitting hairs in their original statement.Ultimately, I think people are just getting mad at semantics at this point.

All this being said, Putting your expansion pass up before the game launches will always feel skeevy to me, regardless of intention. I just hope they know that.

 

[dex3108]

I don't understand the 16 DLC items free to everyone part. If everyone is getting them and they are free, why are they DLC? Why not just include them with the game? Will they be available at launch? I actually think it would be cool, if they asked the community for suggestions/designs for free DLC and then they wrked on them/released them afterwards.

Aside from that, if the game is good I'll probably bite at the expansions (just like WoW expansion packs etc.) like I will when Hakkon comes to PS4.

If they include them in game how could they talk about 16 free DLCs?

 

[iNvid02]

where do you order this, i cant see it on gog

 

[Alucrid]

Is there a place I can purchase both the expansion pass plus the physical copy of The Witcher 3?

gamestop will be more than happy to service you

 

[Circinus]

It seems really weird to announce expansion packs for a game that hasn't been released yet.


I would advise developers/publishers to announce expansions after release.

 

[Aangster]

I guess an Enhanced Edition for free is out of the picture then.

There was never going to be an Enhanced Edition for The Witcher 3. To understand why both the Witcher 1 and 2 required 'enhanced versions', you've got to delve into the stories of their development.

For the Witcher 1, it was clear they wanted to overhaul parts of the game they weren't satisfied with during post-development.

CD Projekt suffered financial difficulties stemming from their first foray into the console market. By funding outsourced development of The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf , the company lost alarming amounts of money and development resources when Widescreen Games couldn't deliver on the project. Consequently, they were pushed for deadlines when it came to The Witcher 2, resulting in cut content along with the initial bugs and combat system quirks we saw.

Ever notice the mentions of

Spoiler

Francesca Findabair

that appeared more often than other characters referred to during your playthroughs? Well,

Spoiler

Dol Blathanna

was cut from the game, and its clear the content in Chapter III was incredibly lacking upon release.

Enhanced Editions are partial overhauls designed to fix issues stemming from development, but also represent the company's commitment to post-development content.

For more, consider reading this article.

 

[Foffy]

Nice to see people be reserved about this. The idea of announcing additional material to a game before it even launches should warrant a kind of skepticism, no matter the game. With that said however, this content seems less like the bullshit we're given with unlock codes and the like. It seems like full blown expansions, content being worked on post release, and not the shady shit of things being sat on to make money every quarter. It's unfortunate how few companies are like CD Project in this regard that even such an announcement has people being critical, because the pot has been poisoned so frequently by so many companies. You can probably count the companies who do post-release DLC (and even expansions) well on one pair of hands.

If it really, really bothers you, you can choose to not buy the game until this content comes out and you can get the whole package at the price of a full release or less, or just ignore the content entirely. But please, don't assume this is the typical corporate shit that we usually get with AAA games from companies like EA and Ubisoft, as those companies would try to incentivise the purchase of the pass; CD Project went out of their way to tell users that if they are skeptical, they don't have to buy it. Usually PR never does that, as PR is usually always intent on shilling and spinning its shit as slimy as possible.

 

[EatChildren]

I don't understand the 16 DLC items free to everyone part. If everyone is getting them and they are free, why are they DLC? Why not just include them with the game? Will they be available at launch?

A couple are available at launch and others will be released every couple of weeks. Odds are they don't ship with the game because they won't be finished in time. Or if you're a cynic, because CDPR want to give the impression of being a good guy and releasing free content.

TW2 was the same mind you. A handful of small extras, content and tweaks and such, were bundled with every other game balance/fix patch. It's just extra fluff to expand the game.

 

[The Shogun]

It seems really weird to announce expansion packs for a game that hasn't been released yet.


I would advise developers/publishers to announce expansions after release.

I would advise the exact opposite.

 

[ironcreed]

The return of proper expansions makes me even more excited for the game, as I know that an already enormous value is going to have even longer legs. Just be glad that there are no timed-exclusive shenanigans and that we are getting the kind of content that we used to want, while the nickle and dime stuff is being given away for free.

 

[jelly]

Expansions, remember them.

 

[On Demand]

You almost made me believe you.

Never again will a game release as it is.

 

[Alucrid]

Whats the point of retention when they claim the game will take 200+ hours to complete?

i have this shit preordered, but i don't follow prerelease coverage. is that really what they said? dlc packs are now down to 2 hours and 4 hours.

 

[Truant]

CDPR won't disappoint. They've been clear from day 1 that "DLC" to them is just small missions, skins, gear and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure they said they'd charge for proper expansions.

Fucking Bungie and their terrible Destiny destroying the term "expansion". Just quit already and let actual passionate developers like CDPR show the world what's what.

 

[raven777]

I don't mind expansions at all if they are good. But the timing of the announcement seems weird.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Whats the point of retention when they claim the game will take 200+ hours to complete?

A 200 hour game like The Witcher 3 (or however long the game ends up being) is a huge time investment that presumably many people might drop or put on hold at various times. Having a constant stream of DLC releases gives players a sense of continued connection to the game that will hopefully prevent them from dropping out. New cool items also helps bring players who did drop out to come back.

 

[Waxwing]

I don't understand the uproar in any way. The content for the base game has clearly been set for a long time- the game was set to release almost a year ago. This new stuff is gravy which the creative team is probably working on while the QA/polish team does their thing on the base game

 

[tuxfool]

Whats the point of retention when they claim the game will take 200+ hours to complete? I doubt the majority of people will beat it within the first 2 weeks.

The story is 50 hours, a lot of sidequests bring it up to 100 hours. OCD level exploration gets it to 200h.

Not everyone will want to do that. A lot of people will only want to do main content.

 

[Alucrid]

CDPR won't disappoint. They've been clear from day 1 that "DLC" to them is just small missions, skins, gear and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure they said they'd charge for proper expansions.

Fucking Bungie and their terrible Destiny destroying the term "expansion". Just quit already and let actual passionate developers like CDPR show the world what's what.

yes, remember when the fateful day when the term expansion was sullied in December 2014. lol, people really need to get a grip

 

[misho8723]

Ehmmm... what's the problem here?

DLC are going to be free - to EVERYONE

Expansion packs - like in the good old days: massive chunks of gameplay - for price, few months after the game release

Not fair? Then I don't know what is fair in the gaming industry

This is how it did work in the "good old days"

 

[jesu]

It seems really weird to announce expansion packs for a game that hasn't been released yet.


I would advise developers/publishers to announce expansions after release.

Don't listen to him devs/publishers.
I'd like to know in advance what your plans for the game post release are.

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

Not seeing an issue here. I agree "DLC" while technically anything downloadable that isn't the main game, is more like the horse armor or an extra character in a fighting game or outfits or maybe an additional couple of missions or whatever. A 10 or 20 hour add on is an expansion. A real one in the traditional sense, and I wouldn't expect to get that for free. I'll be happily buying them assuming I like the main game.

Think of the Wolfenstein prequel coming in May. That's basically an expansion. Yes it's its own standalone thing and it's a prequel, but it's still basically the same. It's 8 missions (I think) for $20.

 

[codhand]

They can get plowed with these pre release expansion announcements.

It's 30 hrs of content. From a game with over 100. They can recoup the large multi year investment, no qualms from myself.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

so then a whole fucking digital game is DLC by that logic. You guys should look up the word misnomer.

Except for the fact that DLC is additional content created for a released video game. So yes, everything after release is DLC. You act like I'm as upset as you. I honestly don't care. I just like to call things how they are, and all I see is smart marketing.

 

[tuxfool]

yes, remember when the fateful day when the term expansion was sullied in December 2014. lol, people really need to get a grip

People really need to stop getting hung up on labels. They ought to judge things on a case by case basis. It is the only smart way to go about these things.

 

[Hystzen]

If those hours are correct then they basically doing witcher 4 as expansions. Holy shit that's crazy

 

[Crawl]

There goes my preorder, will get the enhanced edition next year then.

Enhanced editions don't / have never included 20-30 hours of new content in any of the previous two witcher games.

 

[m_dorian]

I ll end up buying them anyway. It would be a very unpleasant surprise if i dont which would mean that i was not satisfied by the game.

 

[No_Style]

“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,” Iwiński concludes.

The only way to approach this stuff. Will definitely wait to see how the final game is.