The Witcher celebrated at WitcherCon

A teaser trailer for The Witcher's second season dropped during the first-ever WitcherCon, a digital celebration of all things The Witcher from Netflix and CD Projekt Red.



The first series had a stumbling start but quickly transcended those early episodes becoming an unmissable heir to Game of Thrones in 2019. And the second season promises further monster-hunting tales this Christmas.



During the three-hour WitcherCon, series star Henry Cavill provided his take on Geralt of Rivia’s journey.

“I played the Season One way deliberately, which was him out in the wilds and without the opportunity for vast swathes of dialogue. I thought it best to be the man who says less because that seems like he’s thinking more. And that was the intention with that. But once you get into a scenario with Cirilla, and the Witchers and his home space and with those people who he already knows, I was of the opinion that you had to let him be verbose and be philosophical and speak more and be intellectual, because that’s what he is. He’s not just a big old white-haired brute.”

Whilst Cyberpunk 2077 was mired in controversy when it was released to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S last holiday season, The Witcher continues to be CD Projekt's most beloved multimedia franchise.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt next-gen update is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC for free this year! And it'll include free DLC inspired by the Netflix series. Glad I never continued a playthrough on Xbox Series X from 2017.

The Witcher's second season starts streaming exclusively on 17th December on Netflix.

Are you looking forward to the second season of The Witcher? Let me know in the comments below.

Cyberpunk'd 2077

Following a delayed launch, the most hyped game of 2020 was released on 10th December for PC and last-gen consoles. It was meant to bring festive cheer during a torrid year.

Cyberpunk 2077, from developer CD Projekt Red, was announced in 2012. After 8 years of development - spanning 3 console generations - expectations were high, too high. More so given the success of The Witcher 3, and the seemingly consumer-friendly practises of the Polish studio with post-launch patches and free DLC in an era dominated by microtransactions and pay-to-win gameplay mechanics. Looking at you EA and Ubisoft.

This isn't a review of Cyberpunk 2077 as I'm only a few hours into the game, digitally, on PlayStation 5 (PS5) via backwards compatibility. Unlike many playing the game on last-gen consoles, my experience has been great aside from one crash to the PS5 dashboard.

Admittedly, as with the original Mass Effect trilogy and Skyrim, I restarted the game several times until I was happy with my character: Star Wars' Daisy Ridley in Westworld. If I discover any game-breaking bugs, things may go south.

It's 2020 and there's no ray tracing for consoles yet. The PS5 brute-forces 60fps and, by disabling film grain, HDR (if enabled) and motion blur, the graphics are sharper on my Samsung 4K UHD smart TV, which will suffice as a workaround until the release of a free next-gen patch in 2021. Hopefully.

But my opinion wouldn't be so positive on last-gen hardware and, whilst the developer would have strived for the best possible experience on all platforms, CD Projekt Red shouldn't get a free pass. Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't oven-ready.

This satirical YouTube clip distils last-gen console owners' frustrations with hilarious results. Not even Keanu Reeves, playing Johnny Silverhand, can save the inhabitants of potato planet.



Cyberpunk 2077 (affiliate link) is the immersive video game I’ve always wanted in a genre that captured my imagination in the pages of 2000 AD back in the summer of 1980. However, the controversy surrounding the title's launch has been well documented elsewhere and I'm interested in what you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Cyberpunk 2077 won’t be delayed December

As next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft start getting into the hands of lucky gamers this week, a rumour on Twitter suggested CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 would be delayed again.

However, the Witcher 3 developer quickly took to social media to refute the claim and reaffirm the highly-anticipated video game adaptation will be released for PlayStation and Xbox consoles over the holiday season.

Given the impact of coronavirus and the furore surrounding crunch (something not unique to the video game industry), it's not entirely unreasonable to foresee a further delay until 2021. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Cyberpunk 2077 trailer channels Blade Runner

CD Projekt Red has released an official trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. The long-awaited role-playing video game adaptation has been delayed until November. Positive comparisons with Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Blade Runner franchises are inescapable.



New gameplay footage was revealed, showcasing extensive character customisation options (a staple of RPGs), alongside unanimously rave reactions from hands-on impressions.



As part of yesterday's Cyberpunk 2077 - Night City Wire event, an anime series tie-in from Netflix was announced for 2022.

"Wherever there are nerds, there's gonna be anime fans," Saya Elder, a Japan-based producer on the show, says in a preview video. "When we began this project, we were certain that we didn't want to make a recreation of the game," she adds. "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a standalone story set in the same universe. The stage is still Night City, but everything else is totally new: new characters, new story."

The developer behind The Witcher 3 has, justifiably, garnered goodwill from the gaming community for consumer-friendly practises. So, I've pre-ordered Cyberpunk 2077 digitally for Xbox One X. The upcoming title is optimised for Xbox Series X at no additional cost.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available for pre-order (affiliate link).