CD Projekt discontinuing support for Witcher card game Gwent on consoles
No more updates starting next week.
CD Projekt will be discontinuing support for its free-to-play Witcher-themed card game Gwent on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, beginning next Monday, 9th December.
In a statement posted to the official Gwent website, the developer explained that, following the game's release on iOS (with Android still to come), it does not believe it "can support a growing number of different versions of Gwent while improving feature parity between them."
As such, it has made the "tough" decision to end support for the game on consoles, meaning that, as of 9th December 2019, Xbox One and PS4 will no longer receive regular updates, additional content or expansions, and that all real-money purchases will be disabled. Additionally, console versions will cease matchmaking with other platforms from next week.
However, CD Projekt will be offering console players the option to transfer their Gwent progress over to the PC and mobile versions of the game, should they so choose.
This will require a GOG account that doesn't already have Gwent progress attached, and the facility will be available from 9th December 2019 until 9th June next year. The latter date marks the point when the console games will no longer be operational.
According to the developer, players will be able to transfer their account level and current rank, alongside all collected ornaments, cards, deck lists, contracts, Thronebreaker rewards, and currencies. However, only Xbox One players will be able to transfer Meteorite Powder, with PS4 owners needing to spend it before beginning the account-copying process.
CD Projekt's standalone version of Gwent originally launched in beta for Xbox One, PS4, and PC back in 2017, although it hasn't been entirely smooth sailing for the game. Early last year, the developer announced it had made the decision to overhaul and effectively reboot the experience, in order to course-correct back to its "original vision for standalone Gwent".
That update arrived last September, alongside a self-contained single-player version of Gwent known as Thronebreaker. The narrative-heavy spin-off hit its mark for Eurogamer's Robert Purchese, who called it "every bit as punchy and provocative as the blockbusters it takes inspiration from" in his Recommended review.