Xbox 360 Version of The Witcher 2 delayed

Seems like the guys over at CD Projekt RED are needing a little bit more time to get the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 juuust right, and have pushed back the release to the first quarter of 2012.

Honestly, that's fine by us. The Witcher 2 is a fantastic game on PC and dare I be accomplice to allowing console gamer's getting a shoddy port. We don't want another Gothic 4 Arcania  debacle, now do we?

”We have decided not to withhold information and to tell our fans immediately of the Xbox 360 launch moving to Q1 2012. As we have stated many times before, The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 will be an adaptation and not regular port. The extra time will allow us to polish the title to perfection, so that the game offers an ideally balanced, fantastic experience to gamers. As the launch of the game approaches, we will be sharing more details how it will be released on Xbox 360. I trust that despite the release date shift, players will be satisfied with what we are planning for them,” stated Adam Kicinski, President of CD Projekt RED S.A.

Also, the fact that they are trying to hammer-home that the 360 version is an 'adaptation and not regular port' tells me that console gamers can possibly expect some significant changes to the game in order to get it to fit inside that tiny box.

In any case, we're still excited to see another great RPG be available to console gamers, even if we have to wait a little longer for them to get it right.

Check out the full Press Release below.

The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 Release Moved to Q1 2012

August 1 – Warsaw, Poland. CD Projekt RED announces that the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for Xbox 360 – previously planned for the end of 2011 – has been shifted to calendar first quarter of 2012.

As was previously announced, The Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 is an adaptation of the game to the new platform. This means that the process involves significant changes and improvements for the Xbox 360 console version – not a typical port of the game, which is usually much simpler and faster. The move of the release date allows the team to spend more time expanding and polishing certain elements of the gameplay.

Another argument for the move to Q1 2012 is an ongoing legal debate with Namco Bandai Partners concerning distribution of the Xbox 360 version of the game in Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, as well as Central and South America.

”We have decided not to withhold information and to tell our fans immediately of the Xbox 360 launch moving to Q1 2012. As we have stated many times before, The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 will be an adaptation and not regular port. The extra time will allow us to polish the title to perfection, so that the game offers an ideally balanced, fantastic experience to gamers. As the launch of the game approaches, we will be sharing more details how it will be released on Xbox 360. I trust that despite the release date shift, players will be satisfied with what we are planning for them,” stated Adam Kicinski, President of CD PROJEKT RED S.A. (formerly Optimus S.A.).

The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 shall be presented at the upcoming Gamescom 2011 tradeshow in Cologne, Germany. CD Projekt RED would like to invite all attending gamers to their cinema booth in Hall 6 (Stand C021), where everyone will be able to see CG video content from the Xbox 360 version of the game by Oscar-nominated director Tomasz Baginski, plus a movie about major DLC that will be part of the upcoming, as-yet-unannounced update to the PC version of the game.

Media representatives will be welcome at Hall 4.1, Stand E017 in the Business Area, where CD Projekt RED will hold special, closed demo sessions of The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 for journalists from all over the world. This will also be a unique opportunity to meet and interview many key developers and people behind The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 project face to face.