Witchfire has been pushed back to 2023 to allow open-world combat to be added
The follow up to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter from The Astronauts, Witchfire has been pushed back to 2023 to allow the team to add open world combat.
The dark-fantasy shooter was initially set to come to Epic Games Store via early access late this year, but is now looking to an early 2023 slot due to the upgrade to the combat system, switching from arena-style, to open-world fighting.
After the initial gameplay trailer from Summer Game Fest 2022, most people will probably be happy to wait until the game is ready, as it looks great so far.
Creative Director and Co-Founder, Adrian Chmielarz says he’s confident in the 2023 release target, but shared further details, saying: “The feature is now 95% implemented. It makes the game better. It is kind of hard for me to imagine the player did not have that freedom before. Sure, you can still be trapped by the witch in this or that spot, and some doors will be closed until you find a key, and it might be too dangerous to enter areas closer to the boss before you are ready– but the world is wide open for you to explore in almost any order, and you can both push forward and retreat as you please”.
From the creators of Painkiller and Bulletstorm, Witchfire is a first-person shooter set in a grimdark fantasy world. First announced in the 2017 Game Awards, and re-revealed in Summer Game Fest 2022, it will be the second release for The Astronauts, following the BAFTA award-winning title, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. The Astronauts assure fans that the highly anticipated title will be worth the wait: Witchfire boasts AAA Unreal Engine graphics with photogrammetry effects to create an immersive fantasy world, and gripping first-person gunplay— now with open-world combat environments.
Chmielarz also said allayed fears that the game might be going dark until then, adding: “Last but not least, expect something nice in a week or two. Let’s call it Witchfire Halloween Week. It won’t be any gameplay footage or stream or such, but if you are interested in the story and the world and great 2D art, it’s going to be a treat.”
Witchfire is coming to PC in early 2023.
