E3 2016: The Witcher 3’s Gwent Is Getting a Solo Card Game Spin-Off! Get the Beta Details Here!

CD Projekt RED kicked off E3 2016 with a doozy of an announcement. The Gwent card game introduced in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is getting its own solo, dedicated spinoff in Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Not only that, but Projekt RED has already opened beta registration for players, which you can do at this link. As of now, players can register for the beta version for Windows PC and Xbox One. Also, CD Projekt RED will be displaying Gwent at E3 all week.

The unfortunate news? It doesn’t appear a Mac OS version is in the works, and it will only be in beta on Xbox One and Windows PC for now. The good news? Gwent will be available on PlayStation 4 as well at launch. That being said, getting a Gwent an individual Gwent card game is pretty cool, especially with how Gwent added another nice layer to the gameplay of The Witcher 3.

The Gwent solo game will feature players facing off in best-of-three series of rounds. Players can sling spells and use diverse units with special abilities to deceive their opponents. In addition, it will also be free-to-play.

Speaking on the announcement, CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwinski stated: “I would like to thank all the fans for supercharging us to make standalone GWENT happen. Thousands of e-mails in dozens of languages coming from all around the world, the phone calls, the forum posts, and more than 40 fan made versions – all this, and everything in between, didn’t go unnoticed. Yes, we were mysteriously quiet after the launch of The Witcher 3, but during all this time we were hard at work on what we just unveiled today – GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. We’ve taken all that heart and energy you gave us and put it into GWENT,” continues Iwiński. “If you enjoyed GWENT in The Witcher 3, I think I don’t have to convince you to sign-up for the beta. If you hadn’t tried it yet, there’s no better time. Go register, play the beta for free starting from September and share your feedback with us. Tell us what you like, and what you don’t. Tell us what we should change or improve. We made this game for you, so let’s shape it together.”

In terms of gameplay, players will be able to pick five different factions: the mighty Nilfgaardian Empire, proud Skellige, brutal Monsters, cunning Northern Realms or shadowy Scoia’tael. In an interesting feature, gamers can break down unwanted cards and even craft new ones.

In addition, Gwent will have multiple gameplay modes. There will be a Story Campaign, where players will lead armies during events of The Witcher Universe. There will be Friendly Matches, and finally Ranked Matches, where gamers can rise through player-driven division and ascend to the Pro League.

The release date for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game will be revealed later on. You can also check out the announcement trailer released today in the player below.