Witcher 3 Shows Single-Player Isn't Dead, Developer Says

[jennyferminh]

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/93167/The_Witcher_3_93167.jpg

The Witcher 3's success this summer with gamers and critics showed CD Projekt that there's still a significant audience for single-player games out there, visual effects artist Jose Teixeira said in a new interview.

Teixeira pointed out in his chat with MCV that the game really bucks a number of trends in the gaming industry:

If anything,

The Witcher 3

proved the point that players are more interested in longer games.

Now, especially, you hear so many people talking about how the triple-A games industry is there and nobody wants that experience anymore, and here you go – a nice, well-written single-player experience. There’s no multiplayer, there’s no microtransactions; you get a game, you play the game and enjoy the game, and it’s a great success.

CD Projekt's approach to DLC is very different than many other developers' as well. Instead of releasing a series of small premium DLC packs for The Witcher 3, they're releasing two large expansion packs. The first, Hearts of Stone, launched earlier this week. Teixeira said that the early feedback from players has been very positive:

There’s definitely people asking for game expansions. We were very happy to prove that there is still a market for these types of things. Some of the comments we’ve had from players after playing the first expansion is ‘you guys totally broke the system – you’ve just released something that has more content than many full triple-A titled releases for a fraction of the price. It’s crazy.

While Witcher 3's success does prove that single-player gaming is still desirable, I'm not sure it's going to necessarily stop the trend toward multiplayer, free-to-play, mobile gaming and microtransactions. Games like The Witcher 3 are always going to be outnumbered by smaller, cheaper games loading with in-game purchases. Lord knows how many mobile games EA cranked out in the four years between Witcher 2 and Witcher 3's release. Plus, a new match-three game is a lot easier to make and less risky than a single-player RPG.

Still, I'm glad that even as the market is flooded with forgettable games designed to make quick money, someone's still making more ambitious projects. Not many developers can make huge, quality single-player games but I hope the few that can keep doing so for a very long time.

[brokenergy]

I really want to say something witty about this article on how this is another in the long line of CDPR's carefully cultivated marketing strategy and that people miss the point on the difference between the established publishers who have to support their investors, have higher costs of development due to living in areas with a high cost of living and do not have a major source of income from a store that sells video games the but all I have is lol to the people who say that the Witcher 3 is ambitious game.

[JimboUK]

I'd have been a lot happier if the Witcher 3 didn't play itself, that combat with it's auto just about everything was horrible.

[Aurielius]

I do agree that W3 is a quality RPG offering compared to the plethora of quick release / quick buck games. Most current RPG's are almost completely broken on initial release and require multiple patches to get the intended projected / purported functions to work. W3 worked directly out of the box, no ctd's, good fps and excellent graphics. What separates W3 from the pack are the murky moral choices and adult sensibilities that are absent in most other games. Most RPG's have a Pollyanna-ish approach to their main plot line not so with W3. Now whether this is ground breaking or simply a return to the days when games had actual complex plots that were not generic clones I cannot say, but it is refreshing at least to have a game aimed at an adult audience. Single player games are not yet out of fashion and can reap a profit if done well.