How CDPR Braced for Battle Against Arkham Knight During The Witcher 3 Launch

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How CDPR Braced for Battle Against Arkham Knight During The Witcher 3 Launch

Before the release of The Witcher 3, developer/publisher CD Projekt Red was nowhere near being as celebrated as it is right now. Sure, The Witcher 1 and 2: Assassins of Kings were both well received, but neither was really on the same level as that of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CDPR also spoke on the same, remarking how competition was stiff at the time, especially considering that one of the most anticipated sequels to a video game franchise was set to release back then, which might have possibly overshadowed CDPR’s efforts – if it wasn’t for a massive ******-up.

CDPR expected to be demolished by Batman: Arkham Knight in terms of sales

Speaking in an interview, the joint CEO of CD Projekt Red, Michal Nowakowski reminisced about the studio’s ‘super ambitious’ goals on the mark of its 10th anniversary celebrations.

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The team had a sales target of 6 million copies, which it managed to achieve in an impressive three months. This put The Witcher 3 as one of the top-20 best-selling games of all time – a feat which it deserves wholeheartedly.

However, things were not as simple back during the game’s launch in early 2015. After all, the game was being released only a month before Rocksteady Studios’ now critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Knight.

Nowakowski was very cautious of Rocksteady’s third entry into the Arkhamverse, and with good reason – it was one of the most hyped titles back then. CDPR feared that Arkham Knight would ‘roll over’ The Witcher 3, but what happened was far from the same.

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PC port | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studios

In reality, thanks to a botched PC release and general (albeit initial) lackluster first impressions, CD Projekt Red managed to stay on top of the competition, and The Witcher 3 remains as one of the best games to have ever been released.

The Witcher 3 was both a commercial and critical success, and CD Projekt Red aims to re-create the same with the upcoming Witcher 4, which takes place directly after the events of the third game, with Ciri as the protagonist.

A lot can be attributed to Batman: Arkham Knight’s missteps here

While unfortunate, there is really no one to blame Batman Arkham: Knight’s (initially) abysmal launch other than WB Games and Rocksteady Studios themselves. 

Batman: Arkham Knight was in no way a bad game (one might argue that it is the best in the Arkham trilogy, even), but its launch was embarrassingly bad. In particular, the PC port of the game was rushed out to an incomplete state – full of bugs and performance woes.

The game was practically unplayable at launch for PCs, as opposed to the PS4 version, which remained largely flawless. The situation got so bad that Rocksteady Studios officially removed the game from Steam, and worked on it for months to release patches.

While the game runs quite well these days, the damage was already done, and Rocksteady’s descent into mediocrity (with the failed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League title) stands in sharp contrast to CDPR’s success.

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#CDPR #Braced #Battle #Arkham #Knight #Witcher #Launch

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