Today IGN posted part of an interview they had with CD Projekt Red‘s head of marketing and PR Michal Platkow-Gilewski regarding why they choose to support DRM-Free access and eschew the now traditional DLC-download model in games for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and their attitude towards the intelligence of their fans is rewarding to say the least:
“We don’t want to assault anyone. Each time we are thinking about a decision, the first rule is we have to treat gamers like we’d like to be treated. We don’t believe in DRM because we hate DRM. It also doesn’t protect, not really. Games are cracked in minutes, hours or days, but they’re always cracked. If you want to pirate you’ll find a way. But if you’re a committed gamer and are buying the game why should we place a barrier on you?
Then, with DLC, it’s small content. Like one-thousandth of the whole game. Why should you charge for that? If it’s small, give it for free. I know it’s not always possible or easy but this is what we want to give gamers; a little bit of love, which we’d like to get from other developers as gamers ourselves.”
Gods bless these guys. They truly and utterly respect their fans, realizing that DRM is unnecessary as those who truly respect their work are going to pay for it. The many should not have to suffer for the crimes of the few, and the Witcher franchise has such a rabid fanbase that they don’t have to worry too much about those small minority of gamers who choose not to give them their due. With the game coming out on PC, those who don’t want to purchase it on day one will eventually find it cheap in a Steam sale if that’s the route they choose to go, but otherwise it’s good to know we have options for those who prefer to be unshackled by a cumbersome game client.
As for the lack of DLC, this is where Witcher truly deserves to be praised, as all of the games in the series have had so much content shoved into them that the need for DLC is absolutely non-sensical. Witcher 3 is purported to have over 100 hours of content, with approximately 50 hours spent on the main quest and 50 hours spent on side missions. If you’re already spending $60 on a game, you deserve to have that game fully constructed right from the get-go. So many triple-A game franchises, such as Borderlands and Hyrule Warriors, rush out an incomplete product and expect you to pay for extra content, and let’s face it, if you’re a big enough fan you will. Cd Projekt Red has more respect for their fans than that, and frankly, more faith in their actual game. They have put in the hours, refusing to let the game go before it’s complete. They know the game is going to sell, and sell well, and therefore don’t need to appeal to a niche of gamers who want to pay for additional missions and side-quests, or wait for the “game of the year” edition to come out.
Essentially, these guys are awesome. Maybe it’s because they’re Polish.
Honestly, I won’t be playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on day one, I plan to wait for a sale. I know thought that when I do get my hands on that game I will be completely and blissfully thankful that I have the final product of what is sure to be a contender for game of the year in 2015.
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