CD Projekt Autumn Conference recap: The Witcher 2 now available for pre-order at GOG.com

by: Tina - posted: 11/18/2010 12:37:00 PM

While most developers/publishers would reveal the details of pre-order, digital and collector’s edition deals of their game with a simple press release, CD Projekt decided to discuss these details regarding The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in their Autumn Conference that was held today.

Those who logged on to either the official The Witcher 2 website (which didn’t seem to work for me) or the game’s Facebook page got an overview of what game package deals are being made available.

The Witcher 2 will be made available at several digital partners, all of which will offer the game at a 10% discount from the $49.99 price with a pre-order. The two highlights of these digital partners are Steam - which offers extra features including exclusive unlockable achievements and cloud saving - and, of course GOG.com considering they are a sister company to CD Projekt.

Given GOG.com’s DRM-free philosophy, gamers will be excited to hear that The Witcher 2 (although not an old game as the acronym of the partnership suggests) will also be available DRM-free.

Pre-ordering at GOG gets you several additional goodies to the content that comes with the Digital Premium Edition. The Digital Premium Edition gets you a manual, mp3 sountrack, papercraft, maps and letters, and a "making of" video. Pre-ordering at GOG, therefore, gets you all that on top of four bonus tracks not included in the game, ten wallpapers, ten avatars, the art book that is otherwise only available in the Collector’s Edition, and a behind the scenes photography tour of CD Projekt. Furthermore, GOG will offer you all these free goodies instantly, and you won’t even have to pay until the game officially releases.

Still not sufficient enough for a pre-order? How about the offer of any one of the listed five classic RPGs to choose from as a gift from GOG to you (Gothic 2 Gold, Realms of Arkania 1+2,Realms of Arkania 3, Divine Divinity, and Beyond Divinity). GOG is also offering this pre-order deal at one price worldwide. This means that because the European price is technically 16 extra US dollars, North Americans will get a $16 credit to be spent at GOG.com. Take a look at the full details on the just-launched pre-order hub for The Witcher 2 at GOG, or you can hit the jump for the official press release for more details. 

Warsaw, Poland – November 18, 2010. GOG.com (http://www.gog.com), the 'net's best collection of classic PC games without copy protection, announced its pre-order offer for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition today, available at http://www.gog.com/tw2. The announcement, which was made during the CD Projekt Autumn Conference, brings an incredible one-time offer of a 100% DRM-free title, fair worldwide pricing, and exclusive additional content to GOG.com users.

Starting immediately, GOG.com is accepting free pre-orders for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition. “Part of what makes pre-ordering The Witcher 2 on GOG.com such an incredible deal is that it won't cost you a penny, and you'll get instant, free access to unreleased music from the soundtrack, HD wallpapers, avatars, and behind-the-scenes photos of the development team at work,” said Guillaume Rambourg, Managing Director of GOG.com. “No other retailer has this exclusive content that we're offering on GOG for our preorder, and no other retailer has our GOG.com Fair Price Package either. Whether you're a fan of the Witcher franchise or just looking for the easiest place to pre-order The Witcher 2 on the Internet, GOG.com's unbeatable offer is something you should be sure to check out.”

In addition to the game, the Digital Premium Edition will contain a wealth of digital content, including in-game soundtracks, a digital art book, a game guide, papercraft figurines, and much more. Everyone buying The Witcher 2 on GOG.com will get to choose one of the following RPG classics for free when they complete their pre-order on release day: Gothic 2 Gold, Realms of Arkania 1+2, Realms of Arkania 3, Divine Divinity, and Beyond Divinity.

The game is scheduled for release on or around May 17, 2011, and is priced at €49.99 for EU citizens, £34.99 GBP for UK citizens, and $49.99 USD for the rest of the world. Customers who pre-order the game will receive 10% off their purchase, bringing the price for a pre-order down to €44.99 EU, £31.49 GBP, and $44.99 USD respectively. Because the price in Euros is almost $16 USD more than the price in dollars, and the price in GBP is roughly $6 more than the price in dollars, GOG.com is making its pricing fair by giving EU purchasers a $16 USD GOG.com store credit and UK customers a $6 USD GOG.com store credit to spend on any game at GOG.com after they finalize their pre-order.

Rambourg continued. “This one-time offer is a great opportunity to help promote this highly-anticipated RPG by our sister company, CD Projekt RED. Further, by pre-ordering and purchasing their copy of The Witcher 2 from GOG.com, gamers will be supporting the developer more directly, since we're sister companies. This offer reflects the principles that have made GOG.com so popular to our users, such as quality gaming, great value, and DRM-free downloads. The opportunity to bring this to our community and the internet at large was one that we couldn't pass up, and we hope that you won't be able to pass it up either.”

The pre-order offer for The Witcher 2 Digital Premium Edition is now available at GOG.com. It's as simple as, “Pre-order now, pay later,” and get instant access to free digital content when you do. Go to www.gog.com/tw2 to pre-order now.