The highly-anticipated Game of the Year edition of “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” will be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on August 30.
The version of the game, also known as the Complete Edition in some areas, will bring the three last chapters compromising Geralt of Rivia’s final adventure.
It allows players to look for the prophesied child in “Wild Hunt,” square off with a seemingly undying foe in “Hearts of Stone,” and travel to and discover the secrets of Toussaint in “Blood and Wine” DLCs.
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” is the third game in the popular gaming series following “The Witcher” and “The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.” It was released in 2015 for the PC, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One.
The game is 30 times larger than previous Witcher games and spawned 2 expansion packs, which were both met with critical acclaim.
“Hearts of Stone” was released in October 2015 and follows Geralt coming in contact with a mysterious entity known as the Man of Glass and an immortal man named Olgierd von Everec.
“‘Blood and Wine” was released in May this year and follows Geralt as he travels to Toussaint, a duchy untouched by war, as he hopes to track down a mysterious beast terrorizing the region.
Game developers anticipated approximately 100 hours for the completion of the game — 50 hours for the side quests and another 50 belonging to the main story.
The game was met with critical acclaim and was a financial success, selling over six million copies in six weeks. It also won multiple Game of the Year awards in different gaming awards.
Game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, says that the Complete Edition is 150 hours of open-world adventure full of action, exploration, difficult choices, and brutal consequences that will shape the world and hundreds of characters within it.
According to Eurogamer, the latest version is for players who have not met Geralt or those who have been waiting for just one single package.
The website says that the Game of the Year edition is the perfect collector’s edition for those who have been longtime players of the popular video game.
Game & Guide reports that the Game of the Year version will cost $49 and comes with the two expansion packs and 16 DLCs released for the game starting when it was launched.
It was initially reported that the DLCs will not be included for players who will purchase the Game of the Year edition. Instead, codes will be available for players to download when players need it.
However, the latest edition of the game might have a slight catch. Speaking to Gamespot, CD Projekt RED and said that the saved files and accomplishments from the original “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” game will not be available in the new version of the game for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Game Community Manager Marcin Mormont also said that saved files on gaming consoles will not be compatible with different versions as they are treated by the system as different objects.
This means that when they open the Game of the Year edition, players will need to start from scratch as existing files of the game on any gaming console will not be accepted by the new game.
For most players, this incompatibility between the formats won’t be an issue as the Complete Edition is meant for new players.
As for collectors, it’s worth knowing that the progress and achievements saved in their consoles will not be available once they play the latest expansion pack.
However, when it comes to the PC version, saved files are said to be available as per Mormont on his Twitter account. Mormont also apologized for the incompatibility issue but said that the fault wasn’t on their part and that they just tried to make ends meet.