All the Free Loot in the Standard Edition
Back in May when players were only just getting their hands on the game, CD Projekt RED was delivering far more than most other developers with the contents of the standard edition for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A beautifully rendered paper map of the Northern Realms, a nifty pack of stickers, a physical copy of the official soundtrack, a copy of The Witcher Universe Compendium booklet, and special codes to redeem/unlock the The Witcher Battle Arena, and the House of Glass Digital Comic Book were given to anyone who decided to just buy the standard version.
Considering you’d look at paying an extra $10 for just some of these items in the special editions of other games, CDPR really showed gratitude to buyers of The Witcher 3. And just to top it off, it included a little thank you message from the whole team to each individual gamer inside the box. That’s what you call showing some love.
All That Free DLC
CDPR didn’t just give its fans free physical content either. Every four straight for eight weeks following The Witcher 3’s release, the developer dropped two lots of DLC for free to everyone. While these weren’t always exciting new quests, even the armor sets and alternative looks for characters were more than most other developers would offer to its fans so soon after releasing a game, especially for free.
While all of this free DLC was great, it was also a gentle reminder from CD Projekt RED that they weren’t going to be throwing just anything into the paid content they intended to release. The Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansion packs are exactly that; entire extra chunks of gameplay that players would offer a ton of new story and quests. By giving away these smaller bits for free, CDPR showed they still had love for their fans who didn’t want to pay for the expansions, rather than throwing it all behind one big ol’ pay wall.
Patches 1.07 and 1.10
The Witcher 3 wasn’t just given free bits of DLC and the odd small title update either. Patches 1.07 and 1.10 were pretty gargantuan in size, the latter dwarfing the already large former update. With the updates totaling to around 22 GB and 1.10’s list of bug fixes going on for over 13 pages alone, CD Projekt RED continued to polish an already incredible game. Upon release, The Witcher 3 admittedly had quite a few bugs, glitches, and performance issues on certain platforms. Because the game was of such an incredibly high quality regardless of this, many players forgave The Witcher 3 for shoving Roach’s head through a mountain from time-to-time, or the framerate dipping a tad.
Going back and essentially rewriting a lot of the game through these updates before the release of the upcoming expansions, proves CDPRÂ wants fans to have the optimal gameplay experience, not settling for the already high standard set by the game on release.
Hearts of Stone Limited Edition
As the release date for Hearts of Stone was officially announced, CD Projekt RED also revealed the limited edition of the expansion including a whole Gwent set. For fans of the game, this was their prayers being answered. Gwent grew in popularity within the fan base as an incredibly enjoyable and compelling way to whittle away the hours in The Witcher 3’s world.
Offering this physical set to buy with one of the expansions not only provided more of a reason for fans to pick up the content (if they hadn’t already bought the expansion pass), but also proved that CD Projekt RED was listening. These don’t look like a shoddy excuse for physical Gwent cards either, with Gwent tokens and a guide on how to play the game all included too.
 Fairness for Expansion Pass Owners
“That’s all well and good if you didn’t buy the expansion pass!” I hear you shout. CDPR had that covered too, offering fans who had already purchased the expansion pass the option to buy the Gwent set separately off the website for a discounted price.
Minus the costs of any international shipping charges you may incur from the US, the cards worked out being about the same price as they would in the limited edition, minus the expansion. Not only is this a fair way of preventing fans who had already put their money where their mouths were from getting their hands on the Gwent set, the whole process was incredibly simple and straightforward to redeem also.
An Incredible Expansion Pack
By this point, it’s pretty much official: Hearts of Stone isn’t going to disappoint fans. It wasn’t the rushed cash-in that was worked on by a “B team” while the main guys focused on something else. This is more of The Witcher 3 with a focus on exploring the emotional, more human side of Geralt.
While many expansions or additional content offerings from other games provide fans with more of the same, Hearts of Stone tells an unique and expertly crafted story with quality gameplay to boot. Hearts of Stone was seen as an opportunity to fill out Geralt and the side of him we know less about, and marry this with stellar Witcher 3 gameplay, rather than an opportunity to make a quick buck.
Stuck to Release Schedule for DLC…so Far
During a year where we’ve seen a ton of delays of games (albeit for their benefit), it’s a breath of fresh air to see a studio sticking to its release dates. CD Projekt RED did give itself a bit of leeway with rough time periods when the content dropped, but surely enough they’ve delivered on time for Hearts of Stone. It may not be a big thing, but it’ll save any Witcher 3 fans from being disappointed this peak season.
With Hearts of Stone clocking in at about 10 hours, it must not have been an easy task. CDPR have consistently delivered with their promises of supporting The Witcher 3 following its release, and it’s not surprising that their fans adore them. Let’s just hope Geralt continues his winning streak and goes out with a bang with the Blood and Wine expansion early next year.
More The Witcher 3
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone Launch Trailer is Here
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone Has a Host of New Screenshots
- What’s New in The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC
Published: Oct 12, 2015 03:40 pm