The collectible card game Gwent is coming soon to Xbox One, PS4, and PC
When The Witcher 3 hit stores, fans were blown away by the immersive world, tight combat system, and rich story-telling that could be found in the game. What fans weren’t expecting was a fully developed, challenging, and downright addictive collectible card game called Gwent. Forums filled up with people raving about Gwent, people started comparing decks and strategies, and the Blood and Wine expansion for The Witcher 3 released a new faction in the game that added a whole new layer of strategy to the card game. At E3 2016, Witcher 3 developers CD Projekt Red announced that they were working on a stand-alone Gwent game. Here’s all the information available so far.
Gwent Release Date
Will you play as the mushroom munching Skellige faction? Or the guerrila rebels, the Scoia'tel?
Right now, there’s no concrete information on when Gwent is going to be released but our guess would be late 2017. CD Projekt Red has an ongoing closed beta and if you're interested in signing up, click here. CD Projekt Red has said that they want to go live with the game the moment they have a perfect, working, and stable beta. Unfortunately, PS4 players are going to have to wait a little bit longer, as the game is planned on being released as a timed exclusive for Xbox One and PC.
Who is Developing Gwent?
Beloved developers of The Witcher game series are back to make the epic standalone for Gwent
The Gwent standalone is being developed and published by CD Projekt Red, the same team that created The Witcher 3 and that game’s version of Gwent. While the standalone is going to be based off of The Witcher 3’s version of Gwent, many cards are going to be changed and altered to allow for more competitive play. Development is ongoing, and is expected to last until the end of the beta. Once the beta is over, CD Projekt Red has announced that they will continue working to keep the game balanced as well as add new cards and factions to the game to keep it interesting for new and old players alike. Developers are examining other popular card games like Hearthstone and MTG to make sure that their game feels fresh and fun, and to make sure that Gwent doesn’t have the same balance issues that other games have faced in the past.
Where can I get the latest news on Gwent?
Soon you'll be able to play Gwent with friends and show them who's the best player around!
For all the latest news on Gwent, follow the official Gwent twitter, the official Gwent Facebook page, and the official Gwent website. And of course, keep checking into Gamers Decide, where we’ll keep you updated on all the newest developments regarding the new Gwent game as they come out.
Gwent Trailers
Interview with developers who are currently working on the Gwent standalone game.
Announcement trailer
E3 2016 reveal from developers CD Projekt Red
What do we know about the Gwent standalone so far?
A sneak peek at what the new board and some of the new cards will look like
The new Gwent standalone will build on the game within The Witcher 3 by adding new cards, leaders and factions, new gameplay mechanics, and balancing gameplay mechanics that players felt were too strong. Most notable is the nerfing of spies in the game. In The Witcher 3, spy cards were played on your opponent’s side of the board, giving them strength, and allowed you to draw two extra cards. In the standalone game, spies give your enemy considerably more strength, and the card-drawing mechanic has been greatly changed; instead of drawing two cards immediately, you draw two cards, one face up, and one face down. You pick a card to keep in your hand, and the other card is sent back to your deck.
The first four factions released will be the Northern Realms, the elven rebels the Scoia’tel, the sea-faring warriors from Skellige, and the wild, ravenous Monsters. CD Projekt Red has announced that the powerful Nilfgaardian faction will be released after the game goes live, with new, unknown factions promised for the future.
The Gwent game will feature multiplayer modes where players can pit their decks against other players to see whose is better. There will also be a single-player challenge and campaign mode being released after the beta, where players will have to craft decks to meet specific expectations and emerge victorious.
What will the gameplay be like?
Roach will be just as surprising and helpful in Gwent as she was in The Witcher 3
Gwent is a competitive, turn-based card game played between two players. A deck can have as many cards as you like in it, as long as it has at least 23 unit cards and less than 10 “special” cards. Players also choose a leader card that represents their faction and gives them powerful abilities, such as weakening the enemy or strengthening their own forces. At the beginning of the game, players draw ten cards. Unlike other games, Gwent doesn’t allow you to draw extra cards from your deck without playing a card or ability that allows you to do that. Players then take turns playing unit cards in one of three rows (melee, ranged, and siege) or playing special cards that include weather cards that weaken or strengthen characters or plague cards that take cards off the board. The round ends when either both players pass or when a player runs out of cards. Players tally up the collected strength of their units, and whichever has the highest strength wins.
How much will Gwent cost?
Many of the same heroes will be back with all new powers and abilities
CD Projekt Red has announced Gwent as a free to play game that will make its money off of in-game purchases. While the game will be free to play for all players, in-game card packs that can be bought with in-game gold won through winning games can be bought with real world currency as well. Packs will contain five cards, with at least one guaranteed to be rare or better. Interestingly, packs will give players the option to choose one of three cards of the same rarity per pack, allowing players to diversify and prevent getting doubles that they can’t use.
With the popular response the Gwent got when The Witcher 3 was first released, it’s not surprising that CD Projekt Red is continuing to please fans of the game. Whenever it’s released, Gwent will probably quickly become one of the most played competitive games out there.
Want to see more of the beautiful world of The Witcher? Check out these incredible cinematic trailers made by the developers.
Still struggling to beat the Witcher 3? Check out these tips and tricks that will help you kill those pesky monsters.
