14 DAY TRIAL // The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the upcoming role-playing game from CD Projekt, has just received its final cover art as well as a few details about its localization process, which will see the game translated in a variety of languages.
The Witcher 2 is getting ready for its release next month, when it arrives exclusively for the PC platform and continues the story of Geralt, the hero of the first game.
After going through multiple versions of its cover art, The Witcher 2 has finally received its official box cover, which will be found on the variety of game editions, from the regular to the Collector's or Digital Deluxe ones.
As you can see, Geralt is looking much more rugged in the new cover, while the overall tone emphasizes the realistic feel of the new game, as opposed to the original title, released back in 2007, also exclusively for the PC.
The Witcher 2 changes the gameplay of the series almost completely, with the combat being tweaked by the team at CD Projekt to reflect a more realistic approach, while the story will go through locations already explored by the books in the Witcher series.
Speaking with Edge magazine in a recent interview, the producer of the new game, Tomasz Gop, detailed the localization efforts being undertaken by the studio's team, and how, when it is launched, The Witcher 2 will be available in 11 languages, with five being fully voiced.
"The script for the game is being written simultaneously in Polish and English," the developer said. "Once again, there are no shortcuts. Really it's a lot of work. We have to translate into other languages – German for example – because we can't do everything simultaneously, we couldn't handle it. But at least Polish and English are done at the same time. We've got eleven language versions, and five of them are voiced-over – English, Polish, Russian, French and German."
According to Gop, the original game was very well received in countries like its native Poland or Russia, where the Witcher books were already popular, but also managed to sell quite a few copies in order countries like Germany, France or even the USA, where it sold 150,000 copies, despite not being marketed all that much.
For The Witcher 2, both he and CD Projekt hope that the title, being optimized for a wider audience, will manage to reach more impressive sales all over the world, not just in Eastern Europe.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be out on May 17, only for the PC.