Currently in development at Fool’s Theory, The Witcher Remake is being talked about again in order to discuss the changes compared to the original game.
The Witcher license still has a bright future ahead of it. Between season 4 of the Netflix series, the fourth opus which will intensify its development this year, new comics and even board games, we no longer know where to turn. In all this molasses, we could almost forget that The Witcher Remake is also in development. It is precisely his turn to make people talk about him again with the promise of necessary changes.
Changes to be expected for The Witcher Remake
Powered by the launch of Wild Hunt in 2015, The Witcher license has since attracted more than 60 million players. Many of them, however, did not experience the very first video game adventures of Geralt of Rivia. So, to ride on the exponential success of the franchise and players’ affection for the White Wolf, CD Projekt Red is currently developing a certain The Witcher Remake. Entrusted to Fool’s Theory, the project still remains very mysterious to this day. We know that it will run on Unreal Engine 5 and will partly model itself on what made The Witcher 3 successful by opting for an “open-world narrative single-player RPG, a modern reinterpretation of the 2007 game”. And that’s about it.
Naturally, many early fans fear that major changes will distort the original work. Interviewed by The Edge magazine, Jakub Rokosz, boss of Fool’s Theory who worked on the second and third episodes of the trilogy, returned to the need to change certain parts of the original material in The Witcher Remake. He explains that the team intends to take a “down to earth” approach by analyzing parts of the original game that have become obsolete, outdated or just plain bad, then recreating them from scratch. Conversely, the studio plans to keep the best of The Witcher 1 or at least the key elements of the experience which must remain immaculate.
An annoying feature should be removed
If it doesn’t explicitly mention anything, it’s pretty easy to guess what aspects might be removed. In The Witcher Remake, fans will certainly have to say goodbye to “sex cards”, collectible items to immortalize the Witcher’s antics that can then be used in a mini-game. If the basic idea was not particularly in good taste, said cards represented Geralt’s conquests in positions as evocative as they were embarrassing, let’s face it. Some versions of the original game had also censored this part by dressing these pretty young ladies, otherwise naked. The relationship of the first episode with women and their representation disturbed and still disturbs today and we imagine that The Witcher Remake will opt for a more respectful approach, although some are already crying puritanism.
However, this is not the only element that is in the sights of the players. The famous sections in the undrinkable swamps should disappear with the transition to the open world of The Witcher Remake, when the combat system should also be fundamentally modified to meet current standards. Geralt’s three postures could nevertheless be kept and adapted to the formula of the last episode. We could speculate for a long time, but we will have to be patient before we get to the end of the story. The Witcher Remake currently has no official release window, but it wouldn’t be until 2026 at the earliest and that’s optimistic.