CD Projekt wanted to put a chain weapon in The Witcher 3 years ago, but it’s taken until Songs of the Past because it was ‘impossible to do at the time’

The Witcher 3‘s recently revealed expansion Songs of the Past will bring more to CD Projekt’s acclaimed fantasy adventure than a new region to explore and quests to pursue, it will also introduce a new weapon for Geralt of Rivia to wield—a gnarly silver chain. Well, “new” might not be a wholly appropriate term for it. Geralt’s chain weapon—which appears in the novels—was originally seen in the opening cinematic for 2007’s The Witcher, making it one of the earliest things players see in the trilogy. But it hasn’t appeared as a tool players can use until now.

Apparently though, CD Projekt has previously considered introducing the chain, having discussed it more than a decade ago during The Witcher 3’s original development: “We were talking about implementing the chain even during the original Witcher 3.” Jakob Rokosz, Songs of the Past’s Game Director, told BBC News (via GamesRadar+). “But it was impossible to do at the time for various technological reasons and challenges,

Rokosz didn’t go into detail about what those challenges were. But reading between the lines, it sounds like they had to do with the chain’s animations or physics engine. “A few things had to click together, because we were actually able to address those challenges and issues,” Rokosz explained, noting that they did this during the remastering process for The Witcher 3. “Then we were able to implement a weapon that just feels natural and very fluid and basically realises the fantasy you either read in the books or have seen in the trailer.”

But the chain isn’t appearing solely because CD Projekt can do it. Senior quest designer Despoina Anetaki, who was also being interviewed by the BBC, explained that the weapon “fits with the narrative theming” of Songs of the Past. “It fits with the new enemies that work with the chain,” she continued. “We were able to do crowd control with the swarmions that swarm you and you have to keep them away from you.”

Swarmions, I should point out, are a somewhat unimaginatively named new enemy-type coming to Songs of the Past. It also sounds like the chain will act as an alternative to (or outright replacement for) the crossbow introduced in The Witcher 3. Anetaki describes it as “a very cool weapon for players who might be sick of the crossbow by now,” suggesting it’s designed to play a similar role.

If you want to know more about Geralt’s silver chain, our own Joshua Wolens saw the weapon in action at Gamescom last month. Like the crossbow, the chain slows down time when you use it and lets you target specific body parts. Joshua had plenty else to say about Songs of the Past too, like how it focuses on Geralt’s friendship with Dandelion, and how much livelier its new region feels than those of the base game and its expansions.