The closer we get to the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the more pieces of information we get. On the flipside, more and more people are trying to come out and put themselves forward as “insiders” and spread rumors. In particular, rumors about CD Projekt RED downgrading the graphical qualities of the console versions of the game have been flying fast and furiously. Those rumors persist despite the fact that several people from CDPR have come forward attempting to quash them.
Most recently, a visual effects artist for the game sat down with YouTube user docm77 and talked about how the company didn’t go out of its way to downgrade any of the graphics. He also talked about how he feels it’s unfair to compare the graphical representation of a demo and a trailer.
While this last sentiment might be true on its face, it also shows that CDPR might not fully understand why the “Downgrade Action” rumors started in the first place. Video gamers the world over have been burned before with trailers that showed off incredible graphics, and even had companies claim those trailers were representative of the graphics quality. Obviously, a company wants to put its best foot forward when trying to sell the public on the game, but there’s a danger in showing trailers that look quite a bit better than the demo.
Having said all that, the visual effects artist made it clear that the company didn’t “downgrade” in his estimation because “downgrading” would be if the company had deliberately made the game worse. The artist says there’s no chance the company did that. He added that the gameplay demo is when players get to see the real game. People shouldn’t be making assumptions about the game until they get a look at the demo. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is due out May 19, check out the video below to see the visual artist’s full comments.