There are many reasons why The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has become one of the most popular open-world fantasy RPGs, and its in-universe card game, Gwent, is one factor. There’s just a different kind of joy that comes with building your deck and outsmarting your opponents in a high-stakes tournament, and it seems CD Projekt Red isn’t quite done with the card-based excitement yet.
As reported by IGN, single-player roguelike deckbuilder Gwent: Rogue Mage is the newest project from the developer, and serves as an expansion to Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, the real-world iteration of the in-universe game.
Despite the association, the former can be played as a standalone title for US$9.99, with the premium edition – featuring in-game skins, cosmetics, and card packs for the multiplayer – costing US$19.99. It follows the mage Alzur as he attempts to create the very first Witcher, and sees players participating in Gwent battles, confronting moral dilemmas akin to those in The Witcher series, and interacting with Places of Power and other locations to bolster their collection of cards.
“Rogue Mage came out of us noticing that years after The Witcher 3’s release, there are a significant number of players who want a more PvE experience from Gwent,” game director Vladimir Tortsov told IGN. “While Gwent multiplayer is a fantastic game for those who are looking for a great PvP multiplayer experience, we perfectly understand that many Witcher players loved the original mini-game of Gwent for totally different reasons. With Rogue Mage, we aim to give this audience a reason to play modern-day Gwent in the format they prefer.”
Gwent: Rogue Mage will be coming to PC, iOS, and Android tomorrow, 8 July, and is likely to be the only solo Witcher experience that fans can enjoy in a while. The highly-anticipated Witcher 4 has just entered pre-production in May with CD Projekt Red keeping mum on the story, but there’s speculation that it might feature Ciri as the protagonist.
The School of the Lynx medallion shown in the single teaser image does hint at that, and there’ll be plenty of time to cook up more fan theories before the game drops sometime in the future, or before the release of other Witcher-related media, such as a third season for its live-action Netflix series.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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