Combat, for instance, is more complex, with additions in the form of abilities to lay traps and aim and throw ranged weapons.

The player controls Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the few remaining witchers – enhanced and trained humans with special powers who hunt monsters for a living.

Prior to and during the events of The Witcher, Foltest had a secret relationship with a baroness named Maria Louisa La Valette, which led to two children, Anais and Boussy.

It appears to the group that a witcher, believed to have assassinated King Demavend of the neighboring country of Aedirn, is in league with the rebels.

With the help of sorceress Síle de Tansarville, Geralt kills a Kayran, a giant monster that is disrupting the town's trade routes.

Geralt discovers Saskia is a dragon taking human form, but she is under mind control by her advisor, the sorceress Philippa Eilhart.

Geralt defends Henselt from two witcher assassins, and assists Dethmold, a mage and royal advisor to King Henselt, in a necromancy ritual to discover they are in league with Síle de Tansarville, who has already fled to Loc Muinne with fellow sorceress Philippa Eilhart and entranced rebel leader Saskia in tow.

The mages have called a meeting to establish a new magical ruling body known as the Conclave, and all royal leaders are at Loc Muinne.

Philippa Eilhart and Síle de Tansarville intend to use the meeting to establish their own power, with the still-entranced Saskia as leverage.

A concurrent plot of the game is Geralt's attempts to recover lost memories from his previous life, learning more about his beloved Yennefer, and the mythical Wild Hunt.

The post-credit scene reveals a wood gathering peasant witnessing a Nilfgaardian invasion, setting the stage for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 2 features a branching dialogue system with full voice acting, which was cast, directed, and recorded in London, England.

[12] CD Projekt Red released the first gameplay video on 25 March 2011, showcasing different methods with which a player could complete a level.

An Xbox 360 version was announced on 2 June 2011, with CD Projekt Red confirming that it would be released by the end of the year.

On May 25, 2010, it was announced that Namco Bandai Partners would be the game's distributor in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East.

[16] On 14 April 2011, CD Projekt Red announced during their CDP Days 2011 Spring Conference that retail copies of the game would feature SecuRom digital rights management (DRM).

[20] The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was released for PC on 17 May 2011 at retail stores and digital distribution services such as GOG and Steam.

[1] On 30 June 2011, it was announced that THQ would be the distributor for the Xbox 360 version of the game for Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East instead of Namco Bandai Partners.

[22] On 8 December 2011, Namco Bandai won the suit, and CD Projekt Red's distribution agreement with THQ was canceled.

[31][32] When American President Barack Obama visited Poland in May 2011, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave him several gifts, including the Collector's Edition of The Witcher 2.

[34] All existing owners of The Witcher 2 received free upgrades to the Enhanced Edition,[35] and could pre-load the update starting 11 April 2012.

[53] 1UP's Tom Chick gave the game a glowing 'A' rating and cited its "rich graphics that don't have to be flashy, complex challenging combat, and superlative low-fantasy writing".

[56] The game garnered some perfect scores, with GamePro saying that "The Witcher 2 embodies everything that's good about PC development, and everything that makes it, in my mind, the best platform out there.

Some sources such as Eurogamer have praised the difficulty of the prologue, explaining "[the game] treats you not as a player ... but as an adult, free to make your own mistakes and suffer a plot in which not everyone gets what they deserve".

[61] He said: The last time I was here, [Polish Prime Minister] Donald [Tusk] gave me a gift, the video game developed here in Poland that's won fans the world over, The Witcher.

[62]The Witcher 2 had reportedly sold more than 940,000 copies by August 2011,[63] a sales rate that CD Projekt Red had projected.

[68] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was announced by CD Projekt Red on 5 February 2013, and was released on 19 May 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.