CD Projekt held a webcast in Polish and English earlier today, in which they revealed details on the retail and digital release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Perhaps the biggest news is that The Witcher 2 is coming to Good Old Games, DRM-free, on release day.
The release date has been confirmed as May 17th, 2011. It will be released at the same time worldwide, and will be published in 11 languages (5 fully localized).
They showed the Collector’s Edition, as detailed earlier, the details now also available on the preorder page. The normal, base release is actually a “premium” version, coming with 2 DVDs, a manual, a pamphlet, a coin, a map, and papercrafts. Each retailer will have a small DLC addon, such as gear or some extra NPCs, added to the normal edition. This edition of the game is – as said – the basic release, and will be sold at regular price (49.99 EUR/USD). Senior producer Tomasz Gop was reluctant to name a price for the Collector’s Edition, only saying they’ll be charging the “regular price” for a CE, though the price of 130 USD has been named before (but not confirmed here). The Collector’s Edition should be available worldwide. You can find the details on the contents of the premium edition and the different extra for retailers on the The Witcher II premium preorder page.
The digital edition comes with the same things as the “premium” version, only in digital form (digital manual, pamphlet, etc). The game will be available for preorder on Steam. Steam will be 10% off on preorders, and the Witcher 2 on Steam will have achievements and Cloud saving. They are also launching the game with other digital download publishers, such as Impulse, and all will offer 10% off on preorders.
The Witcher 2 will launch DRM-free worldwide (on retail editions).
Tied in with that is its release on Good Old Games, as the first AAA launch on GOG. It will be DRM-free with a flat worldwide price, as usual. The Good Old Games preorder comes with some extras: instant access to free goodies of the Witcher 2 including a GOG-exclusive The Witcher 2 Artbook, you can select one free cRPG on GOG (the available free titles are Gothic II Gold, Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity, Realms of Arkania I/II, Realms of Arkania III), its sale price will be 50 USD/EUR as per usual due to legal obligations, but they will make up the price difference in store credit. You can preorder it now.
Finally, we leave you with the official press release covering some of what we mentioned above:
Pre-Order Now. Pay at the release. Get The Witcher 2 at GOG.com
During today’s CD Projekt Autumn Conference, the digital distribution platform known for DRM-free classic PC games announced it is taking pre-orders for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Warsaw, Poland November 18, 2010. GOG.com (http://www.gog.com), the ‘net’s best collection of classic PC games without copy protection, announced its pre-order offer for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition today, available at http://www.gog.com/tw2. The announcement, which was made during the CD Projekt Autumn Conference, brings an incredible one-time offer of a 100% DRM-free title, fair worldwide pricing, and exclusive additional content to GOG.com users.
Starting immediately, GOG.com is accepting free pre-orders for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition. (Part of what makes pre-ordering The Witcher 2 on GOG.com such an incredible deal is that it won’t cost you a penny, and you’ll get instant, free access to unreleased music from the soundtrack, HD wallpapers, avatars, and behind-the-scenes photos of the development team at work,) said Guillaume Rambourg, Managing Director of GOG.com. (No other retailer has this exclusive content that we’re offering on GOG for our preorder, and no other retailer has our GOG.com Fair Price Package either. Whether you’re a fan of the Witcher franchise or just looking for the easiest place to pre-order The Witcher 2 on the Internet, GOG.com’s unbeatable offer is something you should be sure to check out.)
In addition to the game, the Digital Premium Edition will contain a wealth of digital content, including in-game soundtracks, a digital art book, a game guide, papercraft figurines, and much more. Everyone buying The Witcher 2 on GOG.com will get to choose one of the following RPG classics for free when they complete their pre-order on release day: Gothic 2 Gold, Realms of Arkania 1+2, Realms of Arkania 3, Divine Divinity, and Beyond Divinity.
The game is scheduled for release on or around May 17, 2011, and is priced at €49.99 for EU citizens, £34.99 GBP for UK citizens, and $49.99 USD for the rest of the world. Customers who pre-order the game will receive 10% off their purchase, bringing the price for a pre-order down to€44.99 EU, £31.49 GBP, and $44.99 USD respectively. Because the price in Euros is almost $16 USD more than the price in dollars, and the price in GBP is roughly $6 more than the price in dollars, GOG.com is making its pricing fair by giving EU purchasers a $16 USD GOG.com store credit and UK customers a $6 USD GOG.com store credit to spend on any game at GOG.com after they finalize their pre-order.
Rambourg continued. (This one-time offer is a great opportunity to help promote this highly-anticipated RPG by our sister company, CD Projekt RED. Further, by pre-ordering and purchasing their copy of The Witcher 2 from GOG.com, gamers will be supporting the developer more directly, since we’re sister companies. This offer reflects the principles that have made GOG.com so popular to our users, such as quality gaming, great value, and DRM-free downloads. The opportunity to bring this to our community and the internet at large was one that we couldn’t pass up, and we hope that you won’t be able to pass it up either.)
The pre-order offer for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition is now available at GOG.com. It’s as simple as, (Pre-order now, pay later,) and get instant access to free digital content when you do. Go to www.gog.com/tw2 to pre-order now.
About CD Projekt RED
Founded in 2002, CD Projekt RED Sp. z o.o. is the creator and developer of Poland’s best-known computer game, The Witcher. Produced and published in 2007 the PC, The Witcher received over 100 awards and distinctions worldwide and sold more than 1.5 million copies, becoming the most distinguished and best-selling computer game in Polish history. The Witcher also made its way into the top 100 best-selling games in the history of the PC market. CD Projekt RED is now working on The Witcher II, a sequel to their award-winning RPG from 2007. CD Projekt RED’s mission is to create top quality role-playing games and to build a position as one of the world’s top game producers.
About GOG.com
GOG.com or Good Old Games is the ultimate destination for classic PC games. The site offers gamers some of the greatest PC games of all time for a low price and free from copy protection. GOG.com is much more than just another digital distribution site, featuring an extensive community component that allows players to rate, review and discuss their favourite PC games, as well as insightful articles from respected game journalists. Visit www.gog.com and start your journey into the past.
