CD Projekt RED have revealed their reasoning for delaying their epic RPG, The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt RED’s recent financial report explains in full their reasoning for the delay, albeit in Polish:

Done:

• Dialogue lines are closed & implemented
• They are currently recording voice overs for each language version of the game
• The world of the game is completed – locations are finished, all important gameplay mechanics are already implemented
• Graphic assets and animations are nearing completion
• The game can already be played in full
• REDengine 3 supports all 3 platforms
• The physical elements of the collector’s edition are in production

What’s left:

• Implementation of the remaining side quests
• Importing voice overs and testing their quality/changing them
• Gameplay testing and balancing
• Continuous work on improving the quality of graphic assets, animations, effects and sounds – this will last until just before going gold
• REDengine3 optimization

The reasoning behind 2015 release:

• Less competition
• Improved effectiveness of marketing campaign targeted at aware gamers and not random gift-buyers.
• Better polished game: the last 20% of time stands for 80% of the game’s attractiveness.
• More new-gen consoles on the market = more customers

Plans for 2014:

• Witcher comics – digital and paper
• Continuous intensive marketing action for TW3
• Witcher 3 preorders
• Release of The Witcher Adventure Game (board game) – Q3 2014
• 2 mobile titles: The Witcher Adventure Game and a new multiplatform project.
• Together with an external development studio we are working multiplatform mobile game, which uses advanced features of tablets and smartphones
• We are entering a completely new territory, both in terms of gameplay and business model
• Work on the project began over a year ago, independently from TW3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
• The game will be announced together with beta sign-up.

While it’d be easy to blame consoles and optimisation for the delay, it seems that CD Projekt RED want to make sure this game released perfect. It’s a noble ambition and something to be saluted in an industry famous for pumping out unfinished, buggy and rushed titles (see Battlefield 4).

The Witcher 3 is due to hit shelves at some point in 2015. See the official website for more.