'The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine' Expansion: Developer Confirms Huge Area, Gameplay 'More Refined' & Complex

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Fans of "The Witcher 3" will have to wait a little bit longer because contrary to the original release of the first quarter of 2016, the game's "Blood and Wine" expansion is now expected to be released in the first half of the year, WCCF Tech reports. It will definitely be worth the wait, however, as the highly anticipated game's newest expansion will feature a massive new area to explore.

As per IGN, developer CD Project Red marketing head Michal Platkow-Gilewski likens the new realm called Toussaint to those in the base game in terms of size.

"Blood and Wine is the sum of all the experiences we gained when creating Wild Hunt, so it's definitely more refined than Wild Hunt in many regards, but that doesn't mean it's better per se," Platkow-Gilewski told Gamespot.

"I wouldn't point fingers at what's better separately, as each addition to Wild Hunt (including over 10 updates we've released so far) enriches the overall experience you get from The Witcher as a game in general," he explained. "The base game with the expansions is simply better than without them."

Aside from the massive new realm, gamers can indulge in getting to know new monsters, quests, and other places of interest in "Blood and Wine". In fact, gamers will enjoy as much as 20 hours of gameplay, making "The Witcher 3"'s past two expansions almost as huge as "The Witcher 2".

According to Only SP, the official description says that the expansion will also see Geralt's journey into a land "untainted by war" but harbors a deep, dark secret amidst its carefree facade.

"The Witcher 3" took home three awards during last month's Game Awards, including the much-coveted Game of the Year. It also won Best Role Playing Game and in 2014, Most Anticipated Game. According to IGN, "The Witcher 3" is also nominated for four Game Developers Choice Awards, which will take place on March 16, including Game of the Year, Best Visual Art, Best Narrative, and Best Technology.

"The Witcher 3" is developed by Polish game development company CD Project RED, and directed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Mateusz Kanik, and Sebastian Stępień, and produced by Piotr Krzywonosiuk and Jędrzej Mróz, with a story by Marcin Blacha and Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz. It utilizes the modified version of the Aurora Engine by BioWare and the renderings of DirectX 9. The game was released on May 19, 2015. For more information, visit thewitcher.com/witcher3.