The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an upcoming sequel to The Witcher, developed by CD Projekt RED. Like the original game, it is set after the events of Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series of novels on which the games are based.

Announcements
A video showing Assassins of Kings was leaked on 16 September 2009, before the game was officially announced. According to CD Projekt, the video was intended for potential publishers, and had been created about six months before it was leaked. It was made using a "very early alpha version" of the game, and voices were provided by CD Projekt staff members rather than the final actors. CD Projekt published a short FAQ in response to the leak, but said that apart from that, they did "not plan any materials to be released soon". The game itself was said to be "still deeply in the development stage", and people should "not expect the game too soon".

The game was announced officially on 24 March 2010, with a number of articles and videos appearing. A two-minute trailer was released on GameTrailers, and articles (with accompanying video and screenshots) have been released in English, Polish, and Russian.

The official CDPR forum was launched on March 23, 2010 along with the official trailer. An official website is due to be launched in April.

Platforms
The platforms to which the game will be released have not been confirmed yet. CD Projekt's FAQ says that the PC was a "certain choice", but that they are also interested in a console version. It is rumored that it will come out not only for the PC, but for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well.

Gameplay
According to previews:
 * The game features timed conversations, with a default response being used if players do not choose an option within a certain length of time. Players are not presented with the full, exact line that Geralt will deliver, instead choosing from among short summaries.
 * Combat has been reworked somewhat, being "much more open-ended" and which "will no longer require the timed input of the original game".
 * The "sex cards" are not returning, although Geralt still has opportunities for encounters. These will involve cutscenes.
 * According to a Polish preview, it will be possible to import saved games from the first game, although the exact mechanics of this system have not been detailed yet.
 * Fighting alongside companions will receive greater emphasis, although they will still act autonomously rather than be under the control of the player. How players relate to these companions (both in conversations and elsewhere) can open up quests and affect the game's ending.
 * Meditation can now be done anywhere, provided there are no enemies nearby to prevent it.
 * Geralt can now climb over walls and other such obstacles.

Story


The game is set almost immediately after the first, and follows from the attempt on King Foltest's life which occurred in the final cutscene. Geralt will once again face the mysterious witcher-like assassins.

The setting for the game will, at least partly, be Kaedwen. According to one preview, it will also feature a town called Flotsam, apparently located on the border between Temeria and Aedirn.

Characters returning from the first game include Triss Merigold, Zoltan, and Dandelion &mdash; Triss seems to be with Geralt from the start, while the latter two are found just as they about to be hanged in Flotsam on charges of debauchery. Other known characters are Vernon Roche (a Temerian military officer sent to help Geralt) and Iorveth (a human-hating elf) &mdash; the two already know each other, and are enemies. Iorveth is seen in the trailer interacting with a character referred to in previews as the Kingslayer, who is presumably connected with the assassins. The Kingslayer shows Iorveth a severed head which he claims is King Demawend of Aedirn, and says that if Iorveth is prepared to help, more kings will also fall.