The Witcher 3 Won’t Include Multiplayer or DRM

Despite previous statements that multiplayer might make it into CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3, the developer confirmed Geralt's last adventure would be solitary through and through.

In an interview with Forbes, CD Projekt Red team members discussed upcoming PC and next-gen console title The Witcher 3. Chief among the topics covered were ideas like DRM, quick-time events, and the possible addition of multiplayer.

Though it may have been interesting to play The Witcher 3 with a friend, CDPR told Forbes in no uncertain terms, "the game will be an epic, story driven, single player, open-world RPG experience." The devs added that this final chapter in Geralt's saga, "has no place for meaningful multiplayer." While there probably won't be too many people upset by the lack of multiplayer, it would have been cool to see what CDPR could do with cooperative play.

Additionally, the team stuck to its guns about always-online and DRM piracy prevention. “In my opinion, DRM is the worst thing in the gaming industry," Project Lead, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz said. "It’s limiting our rights to play games owned by us. Let’s imagine that you have a game that requires internet connection to prove that you actually bought it."

And what about those QTEs so prevalent in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings? CD Projekt Red is moving on. "[Quick-time events] didn’t fit this type of gaming experience and usually frustrated players," Tomaszkiewicz said. "There is a small number of games where it is fun, like, for example, in the Uncharted series, where you don’t even realize that you’ve just finished a QTE sequence. And I think that only this way of using QTE has any kind of future in games.”

The Witcher 3 will still be rather grand in scope, and CD Projekt Red hasn't really disappointed yet with the franchise. It's refreshing to see a developer stay true to its own ideals in this current world of game homogenization, and we look forward to finally getting to play this sequel whenever it's finally finished.