CD Projekt RED announce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Following on from yesterday's Game Informer reveal, CD Projekt RED has sent out a press release properly announcing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for release in 2014.

The game features the return of Geralt and will be the final entry in the series. It'll be released in 2014 for what CD Projekt are calling "all high-end platforms" - presumably meaning PC and next-generation console hardware, soon to be announced. The game will run on CD Projekt's newly-announced RPG-based engine REDengine 3, and the team promise it will "take full advantage of the technical capabilities of modern hardware and will set a new standard for RPG visuals."

"The captivating and nonlinear story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes place in a rich, truly open world environment," Adam Badowski, head of the studio said. "A world which is thrilling to explore, full of daring adventures, momentous quests, memorable characters, and unique monsters. Players will freely travel through woods, lakes, mountains, cities, and villages."

"Each region is inhabited by distinct populations with their own customs, legends and problems. The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 30 times bigger than The Witcher 2."

A big sell of the game is its new open-world style, offering what the studio promise will be an Elder Scrolls-like level of freedom with the polish fans of the Witcher series are now familiar with.

"Imagine playing a dark fantasy game with the same great nonlinear story as in the previous Witcher titles, but now told in a world you can explore freely with no artificial boundaries. The war-ravaged world is so huge that to reach further places you will need to ride a horse or sail a boat to get there," Badowski said.

"From the development side, this goal is extremely demanding. Our team had to make significant design changes and our tech had to be rebuilt. But we believe that this will lead to a completely new level of nonlinearity and a whole new, richer gaming experience. As a gamer, I would love to play this kind of RPG and I think this is what many players are waiting for. This is our dream come true at CD Projekt RED, and we hope it will be the same for you!" added Badowski.

The team go on to promise that this final story for Geralt will be his most epic, and that the game will remain accessible to those without experience of previous entries in the series.

We'll bring you more on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as we get it - in the meantime, check out a first glimpse at its logo and announcement trailer below, while you can find more versions of the logo and the Game Informer cover artwork over in the Media Vault.