One of the most popular aspects of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3 will finally be playable separately, no Geralt required. The popular card game played by many of the NPC characters in The Witcher 3 looks like it is becoming a full-fledged game in its own right, if a recent trademark in Europe is to be believed.
The trademark is for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. As discovered by Nerd Leaks, the name was recently filed with the European Union and can still be found on the European Union's Intellectual Property Office website. A logo accompanies the name trademark, all but confirming that this is the real deal.
CD Projekt Red previously hinted that it would release a new game ahead of its next big RPG, Cyberpunk 2077. This appears to be what the developer was talking about. It makes perfect sense, of course. Gwent proved so popular that CD Projekt Red created a physical version of the game that shipped alongside special editions of The Witcher 3's two DLC expansion packs, and more than a few players spent dozens upon dozens of hours collecting all the various Gwent cards in the game itself (a task that is now far easier thanks to a recent update).
A full announcement for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is expected at E3 next week. Until then, details about the game's pricing model will remain a mystery. It's possible it could be a free-to-play game like Blizzard's Hearthstone, where players can purchase booster packs with real money, or it could be that CD Projekt Red instead plans to sell game as a $15 to 20 downloadable title across Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Expect more details soon.
In other Witcher 3 news, the game's final expansion, Blood and Wine, is finally out in the wild. It offers up dozens more hours of gameplay for those who can't get enough of Geralt and his monster-slaying adventures. Turns out that the Blood and Wine expansion features a number of fun Easter eggs for players to discover as well, making references to both FromSoftware's popular Dark Souls RPG series and Valve's Portal. Wondering what it was like to help create Geralt's final video game adventure? Be sure to check out this interview with Blood and Wine writer Karolina Stachyra for an inside look at how the project came together.
