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#thewitcher CD Projekt, the developers of the Witcher series, have been sending letters to alleged German pirates demanding over US$1,000 for having illegally copied the game. More »

Developer CD Projekt RED previously estimated that The Witcher 2 had been pirated 4.5 million times, and now it's looking for thousands of those offenders to pay up. TorrentFreak reports the company has sent legal notices to BitTorrent users in Germany seeking €912 ($1180) to cover their debt to the company.

"As you know, we aren't huge fans of any sort of DRM here at CD Projekt RED. DRM itself is a pain for legal gamers - the same group of honest people who decided that our game was worth its price, and went and bought it," CD Projekt RED told Joystiq in a statement. "We don't want to make their lives more difficult by introducing annoying copy protection systems."

"However, that shouldn't be confused with us giving a green light to piracy. We will never approve of it, since it doesn't only affect us but has a negative impact on the whole game industry. We've seen some of the concern online about our efforts to thwart piracy, and we can assure you that we only take legal actions against users who we are 100 percent sure have downloaded our game illegally."

CD Projekt wouldn't explain how it's sure that it's targeting the pirates properly, but it's using a method, according to PC Gamer, developed by an external company.

GOG's 48-hour sale that gives you The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $24 (down from $40) is on right now. The company states this is the "best price" it'll have on the Witcher franchise during its holiday sales, and it's not like it would lie about something like that (well, there was that one time).

The Witcher 2, which we loved at launch, has since received one of the most significant post-release updates we've ever seen, effectively addressing most reasonable criticism. For those without the PC to handle all the visual awe The Witcher 2 has to offer, the game should cast its spell on Xbox 360 in early 2012.

Classic game distributor (and CD Projekt portal) GOG isn't one to be left out of the holiday discount phenomenon. The site revealed its sales plans for the rest of the month, including a free copy of The Witcher with Witcher 2 downloads, and a 50 percent discount on "virtually" its whole catalog.

You think because Cyber Monday has come and gone, Amazon's going to stop offering preposterous discounts on games? No, stupid: Check out today's Amazon discount round-up, which cleaves the prices of PC games like Witcher 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and so, so many more.

Polish developer CD Projekt claims that its Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been pirated more times since release than you might expect. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, CEO Marcin Iwinski does some quick back-of-the-hand calculations according to what he saw on illegal downloading sites, and comes up with 4.5 million copies of the game obtained illegally. He also says, however, that "as of today we have sold over one million legal copies, so having only 4.5-5 illegal copies for each legal one would be not a bad ratio."

He then suggest, however, that "the reality is probably way worse." Still, CD Projekt isn't interested in digital rights management, and Iwinski says that it would cause more trouble for legally paying gamers than it would stop any piracy. The solution, he says, is to both add value to buying games legally, and educate users about why it's the right thing to do.

"We started offering high value with the product -- like enhancing the game with additional collectors' items like soundtracks, making-of DVDs, books, walkthroughs, etc.," he says. "This, together with a long process of educating local gamers about why it makes sense to actually buy games legally, worked. And today, we have a reasonably healthy games market." Iwinski's got a point -- it's often an easier battle just selling more legal copies of a game (by providing a better value to customers) than preventing would-be pirates from beating even oppressive DRM.

#thewitcher Marcin Iwinski, CEO of Witcher developers CD Projekt, utters a little common sense as a palette cleanser to Ubisoft's increasingly farcical stance on PC gaming. More »

Amazon's PC digital distribution service is rolling out its Black Friday deals now, with a minimum of 50 percent off many of the year's hottest titles. There are also massive discounts on titles from last year, like Mass Effect 2 for $5.

Recently released titles Dungeon Defenders and Might & Magic: Heroes 6 are 50 percent off, at $7.50 and $27.50, respectively.

Other great deals include The Witcher 2 for $16 (-60%), Amnesia for $5 (-75%) and Tropico 4 for $20 (-50%). For those looking for an excuse not to venture near any malls this weekend, Amazon has plenty of discounted titles to keep one busy.

According to a translation of the livestream of CD Projekt's recent Investor's Day, the Polish developer behind The Witcher is working on a brand new IP, along with a whole bunch of other releases over the next few years. The Witcher 2 is still due out on Xbox next year, and then CD Projekt says it's also working on two more "AAA+" titles for 2014 and 2015. Between then and now, the company also hopes to put out three smaller budget titles -- two with a budget/staff grade of "A", and 1 "AA"-sized game.

All of the titles are set up for "multiplatform" release, though which platforms isn't yet clear. But the company says it's still working on developing the RED engine, and since that engine is already designed for PC and Xbox development, we'll guess those two. CD Projekt promises more news on all of these titles soon, and since both "AAA+" titles expect to take 3-5 years to develop, it's a good guess at least one of those is already under development. We'll keep an eye open for more.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings sold nearly a quarter of a million copies through digital distribution channels between May 17 and October 30, publisher CD Projekt has announced. The company revealed in late August that it had reached nearly a million sales of the RPG between retail and digital.

CD Projekt's DRM-free digital distribution service GOG.com sold approximately 35,000 copies of the game, with Steam picking up the five-headed lion's share with 195,000 sales. According to the publisher, "all other digital distribution outlets combined sold approximately ten thousand units."

"The digital sales of The Witcher 2 have exceeded our expectations. We are even more pleased that our own platform GOG.com had such a great share in the Witcher's success," said Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of CD Projekt Group. "The performance of GOG.com in selling new titles is not completely surprising, as we have said for years that DRM isn't necessary. It is gratifying to see that the only platform that offered The Witcher 2 DRM-free from launch has performed so well."

Well, yes, but over 550 percent more went the Steam route. So, the crowd angry enough about DRM to vote with their wallets form a vocal minority. It's not hard to see why Ubisoft, which has been one of the harshest of publishers when it comes to DRM, considers it a success.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will publish The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings in North America early next year, providing sales and marketing resources that North American PC publisher Atari likely wouldn't be able to provide for a console launch.

"We are sure that this partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, with its strong position in the entertainment sector and particularly in the video and games distribution market in North America, will help us to achieve even bigger success in the most important market for Xbox 360 games," said Adam Kiciński, president of CD Projekt RED. "This is also a big distinction for us, that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment recognizes The Witcher 2 as a rare example of a game with world-class production values, which merges a very ambitious and complex approach with big commercial potential."

And as WB "recognizes" the publishing opportunities for Witcher 2 in North America, THQ will work PAL territories. Meanwhile, Atari and Namco Bandai continue PC publishing duties for NA and PAL, respectively. Anybody else want in on Geralt, cause it looks like CD Projekt RED is open to multiple partners.

The Witcher 2 has been very successful for CD Projekt -- and it's most certainly been deserved -- so when it came time to figure out the DLC strategy, the company didn't want to charge players on the PC. As for the Xbox 360, well ... that's not up to CD Projekt.

"All DLC for the PC version is and will remain FREE," development director Adam Badowski told Rock Paper Shotgun. "That's not likely to be the story for the Xbox version, because of certain Microsoft policies that need to be followed. But on PC, once you buy our game, you don't need to worry about any additional costs - we will provide all updates, including those featuring new content, for free." Badowski says no current expansion packs are planned, but if CD Projekt is to ask PC players for additional money, it'd be for "a more classic expansion pack along the lines of, say, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast."

The "certain policies" Adam is speaking about have certainly thrown developers for a loop in the past. Who can forget Team Fortress 2 and the Left 4 Dead 2 DLC thing? Valve's Gabe Newell has been one of the most vocal opponents of Microsoft's restrictive policies.

CD Projekt RED's exemplary (and entirely free!) post-launch support of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is perhaps best conveyed in a massive, debilitating list of tweaks to be made on September 29. Read the finalized list of changes in the Version 2.0 update, which is being rolled into next year's Xbox 360 version, after the break.

A couple of changes made to combat should do wonders for its pacing, as Geralt will now be able to parry blows even when he's exhausted. Not all damage will be nullified, but the change should reduce reliance on the ol' run-around-and-roll-repeatedly strategy. The white wolf's attacks are also protected from interruption by successful enemy attacks.

If that makes it sound too easy, you'll be interested in Version 2.0's "Dark Mode," a more sadistic approach to difficulty with unique weapon rewards. And if that still sounds too taxing, you'll be pleased with the game's new, fully developed tutorial. Rather than a quick walkthrough, the tutorial is a brand new quest in which Geralt aids a wounded knight. That context sounds quite a bit more gentle than the unaltered game's cajun-style kick-off (which we still found inspiring, mind you).

Is a Witcher a person who hunts witches? Or perhaps, a person who witches? These are the questions, and now the answers can be had for as little as $23.99 at Amazon. We guess they could also be had for free at Wikipedia, but where's the fun in that?

During a livestreamed press conference this afternoon, Polish developer CD Projekt Red detailed many of the 2.0 changes coming to its hit PC title, The Witcher 2. Those features include a new tutorial system, addressing complaints that the game dropped players off right into the deep-end of the gameplay pool.

If you're complaint wasn't that the game was too hard but rather too easy, version 2.0 also introduces the so-called "Dark" mode, which " is nearly as difficult as 'Insane,' but allows players to save the game." And if your complaint wasn't that The Witcher 2 was too easy or too hard, but rather too finite, you'll be interested in Arena mode, which is a wave-based arcade mode, where players will fight (and fight and fight) until they finally succumb to the enemy horde. Depending on how you fared, you could opt to upload your progress to Facebook or the game's forums.

In addition to the PC enhancements, the upcoming Xbox 360 "adaptation" (don't call it a port!) includes all of the new 2.0 features, as well as some other "new features." Most notable, according to CD Projekt Red, is an all-new "4 minutes long CGI Intro by Oscar nominee, and BAFTA winner, animator Tomasz Bagiński." Baginski did the CGI intro for the first Witcher title, but promises, "The CGI Intro for The Witcher 2 will have different flavor than the one known from the first Witcher game." And before you get too upset, PC players, while the CGI intro is strangely being billed as an Xbox "feature" it will "be part of the future update of the PC version of the game as well."

The 2.0 update hits PC a week from today, on September 29th, for the low, low price of free, while the Xbox 360 release is still expected in the Q1 2012 window. If you've been looking for an excuse to try your hand at witching, a new retail price point as well as some digital promotions should help. Beginning today, the Steam version is available for $29.99 (or €29.99) until October 6. CD Projekt Red sister company GoG.com will offer a DRM-free version on the 29th for the same price, until October 6 as well. If retail is more your thing, The Witcher 2 is getting a $10 drop from $49 to $39 (or €39), a price already beat by Amazon.

CD Projeckt's acclaimed (and Kotaku-Approved) PC RPG The Witcher 2 is on sale for $30 all weekend at Good old Games. If you've got a gaming PC and like lusty, swashbuckling adventures (and seriously good RPGs), give it a go. More »

DRM-free digital distribution platform GoG has given us another reason to get excited about Gamescom -- a reason that doesn't include the near-constant stream of tasty German beers. For the rest of the week, CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been marked down to $29.99 on the GoG storefront.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be upgraded to version 2.0 on PC with an automatic update on September 29, CD Projekt revealed today at Gamescom. The free enhancements include a new tutorial system (YES!) to train players on game's mechanics, hopefully sparing players the frustration of dying 18 times in the first 20 minutes of the game. It will also add a "Dark Mode" difficulty, which is like Insane Mode but allows saving. There will also be a new "Arena Mode," an arcade style survival mode that has you hacking and slashing through wave after wave of ever-more-hearty beast. There are also 20 new tech enhancements that the devs didn't delve into.

The company also announced that the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2, scheduled for Q1 2012, will include all the DLC updates to the game, including the 2.0 version. If you haven't tried Witcher 2, definitely check it out after the update -- your initial experience with the game should go much smoother.

What good is your heroic success in keeping the world of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings from slipping into ruin if none of your Steam buddies are going to hear about it? A bug in the well-received RPG kept some Steam Achievements from registering on players' accounts -- but those dark and lonely days have passed. CD Projekt Red recently launched an update for the title which remedies these incidences of accidental humility.

Other problems fixed by the update include graphical snafus in 3D Vision mode, a bug which allowed antivirus software to treat game .exe files as harmful, and an error which screwed with blood textures on certain graphical settings. For instance, when the graphical quality is turned up to "savory," blood begins to look like delicious raspberry preserves.

• Issue with shadows in 3D Vision mode has been resolved.
  
• Screenshots to savegames made in 3D Vision are now visible in load menu.
  
• Issue with Steam achievements not being registered has been resolved.
  
• Blood texture glitches in game with ubersampling option turned on have been fixed.
  
• Pocket item counter is properly updated after picking up an item which is already selected.
  
• Issue with ingredient counter when brewing multiple Thunderbolt potions has been resolved.
  
• Finished Scent of incencse quest is no longer marked as failed when entering Loredos residence at the end of Chapter 1.
  
• Corrections have been made in the greater mutagen drop rate.
  
• Deleting savegame after entering memories and flashbacks menu no longer causes Loading available flashbacks message to appear.
  
• Game exe files are no longer treated as a threat by popular antivirus software.
  
• Patching the game automatically right after installation no longer causes Launcher.exe error on Windows XP systems.
  
• Game installation folder is not recognized if diacritic signs were used in folder name on Windows which doesnt support them. Patch now properly informs about the cause of the problem.
  
• Name of two scientists in Flotsam have been corrected.
  
• Storage chest description have been corrected.
  
• Description of Mahakaman Rune Sihill imported from The Witcher savegame have been corrected.
  

#fineart Brazilian artist Rafael Grassetti is a talented kid. We've already seen his amazing work on the Mass Effect universe, from sculptures to fan art, but today we're looking at his more professional output. More »

#thewitcher2 The Xbox 360 version of RPG The Witcher 2, originally slated for later this year, has now been moved back to "the first quarter of 2012", the developers tell us. More »

Our two biggest issues with CD Projekt's otherwise wonderful RPG The Witcher 2 were (in order of importance) that the prologue's tutorial was way too rushed, and that our sacks were way too devoid of soft textiles. The developer has announced the arrival of Update 1.3, a patch which adds an item storage system, a Quickload hotkey and support for a number of aspect ratios. The dragon section of the prologue can only be accessed after completing earlier sections, now, so you'll actually know what's going on before you get roasted.

There's also a new, downloadable quest titled "A Sackful of Fluff," which players will encounter in the middle of Chapter 2. According to the patch notes, "The quest will prove most rewarding to those who demonstrate patience." This can only mean one thing: Geralt will be tasked with meticulously stuffing pillows for loot and experience points. That is literally the only thing this can mean.

The Witcher 2 has been updated.

For a complete list of the changes in Patch 1.3, please visit thewitcher.com.

Note: Version 1.3 is incompatible with player mods. Please uninstall all player mods before attempting to launch the Steam version after picking up the update.

The Witcher 2's patch 1.3 still doesn't have a release date, but we do have more details about its fixes and goodies. Patch 1.3 will allow item storage at the game's inns, new aspect-ratio support and will include a free DLC quest that sounds more like it belongs in LittleBigPlanet, "A Sackful of Fluff."

The patch will also fix a slew of issues, including patch installation causing the game to reset to default, map pin problems -- and the option to fistfight the woman praying at a statue in Vergen, which has now been deactivated. The full list of patch 1.3 updates can be found here.

Okay, this is going to get confusing. Namco Bandai is suing Optimus SA, parent company of CD Projekt Red, over the European console publishing rights for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. It claims that Optimus failed to meet its commitment with Namco Bandai when it gave THQ the rights to distribute the Xbox version of the game in some parts of Europe.

What does Namco Bandai have to do with The Witcher? Namco Bandai actually owns the European distribution business of Atari (who will publish the console release in North America, and who published the PC version in Europe), after purchasing it in 2009. For its part, Optimus says that it only signed a distribution deal with N amco for the PC version, and had its choice of distributor for the console release.

In addition, Namco Bandai claims CD Projekt Red violated its agreement when it spontaneously removed DRM from all versions of The Witcher 2. As a result, Namco is withholding payment of around €1.255 million ($1.8 million) -- a threat to which Optimus president Adam Kicinski blithely responded (as translated by Google): "Our liquidity situation is very good. Therefore, the lack of a few million does not have any leverage on current activities. Withholding of payments means only that for some time, our partner will have to give us the money with interest."

He added that he was confident the case would be settled before it went to court -- or, if not, Optimus will win the case "and then the loser will pay for our lawyers."

Wow.

The Witcher 2 is coming to Xbox 360, and not since EA's landmark Skitchin' have we been so excited for a game with a made-up "itch" word in the title. But what of our friends in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East? Will they have to live with an itcher they can't scratcher? Not if THQ has anything to say about it.

And it does. Because it publishes games.

The company announced this morning that it will be bringing the game to 360 in the aforementioned territories. We'd still argue that North American publisher Atari is a better fit for a game about prestidigitation (as its continued existence as an operating entity almost certainly required use of the dark arts), but we'll take what we can get.

As CD Projekt Red crams The Witcher 2 onto the Xbox 360, it does so without senior producer Tomek Gop. The developer's LinkedIn profile indicates that he left CD Projekt Red sometime in June, after being at the company since March 2006. His time there included stints as a producer on The Witcher 2 and the RED Engine, and as a "production coordinator" on the first Witcher.

CD Projekt PR manager Lukasz Kukawski told VG247 that Gop had apparently left not only CD Projekt Red, but the game industry in general, though no information was provided about his future plans.

We sit down with The Witcher 2 at E3 2011 and get the details on the cross-platform version with Senior Producer Tomasz Gop!

Get the details on the console version of Witcher 2 straight from the source of the game in this E3 2011 interview!