The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Polish: Wiedźmin 2: Zabójcy królów) is a 2011 action role-playing game created by CD Projekt Red. It is based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski. The game follows The Witcher (2007) and is the second main game in The Witcher video game series. It was released for Windows, Xbox 360, OS X, and Linux.
Players control Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter called a Witcher. The game’s fantasy world is inspired by Polish history and Slavic mythology. The game received praise and sold more than eight million copies by September 2014. The third game in the series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was released in 2015.
Gameplay
The gameplay of The Witcher 2 is very different from the first game. Combat is more complicated, with new abilities such as setting traps and using ranged weapons like throwing knives. The main character, Geralt, has better tools for fighting and defending himself. He can use melee weapons, ranged weapons, armor, bombs, traps, and other tools like axes and shovels. Upgrades are divided into four categories: a starting training path that improves basic skills and must be completed before other paths are available; swordsmanship, which makes Geralt better at fighting with swords; alchemy, which helps reduce the bad effects of potions; and magic, which improves Geralt’s use of Witcher Signs.
The game also includes a stealth mode in some areas. Players must avoid being seen while moving toward a goal. If Geralt sneaks up on enemies, he can stun them. However, players may also choose to fight enemies directly instead of hiding.
Plot
The player controls Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the few remaining witchers. Witchers are people who have special abilities after special training. They hunt monsters for a living. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has different paths and storylines. It also has multiple endings.
At the start of the game, Geralt is in prison. People think he killed Foltest, the king of Temeria. Vernon Roche, the leader of Temerian special forces, asks Geralt questions to find out the truth. Roche learns about events that led Geralt from being Foltest’s trusted advisor to being a prisoner. Before and during the events of The Witcher, Foltest had a secret relationship with a baroness named Maria Louisa La Valette. This relationship resulted in two children, Anais and Boussy. After Geralt saved Foltest from a witcher assassin, Foltest tried to take his children to live with him in Vizima. Maria refused to give up the children, so Foltest started a war to claim them. Geralt helped Foltest reach his children, but an unknown person killed Foltest before disappearing. Geralt became the only suspect. After the interrogation, Roche decides Geralt is innocent. He helps Geralt escape prison. Geralt, Roche, and sorceress Triss Merigold search for the person who killed the king.
The group arrives in the trading town of Flotsam. They are attacked by Iorveth, a rebel elf. It seems a witcher, who is believed to have killed King Demavend of Aedirn, is working with the rebels. Geralt saves his friends, the bard Dandelion and the dwarf Zoltan Chivay, from being hanged in the city square. With help from sorceress Síle de Tansarville, Geralt kills a giant monster called a kayran that is blocking trade routes. Geralt finds out that Loredo, the supposed Temerian commander of the town, plans to sell Flotsam to King Henselt of Kaedwen. He also learns that the kingslayer, a witcher named Letho, plans to betray Iorveth. Geralt convinces Iorveth of the truth. When Geralt and Iorveth confront Letho, Roche arrives with soldiers. The player chooses to help Iorveth or Roche. This choice decides the path of the second chapter. No matter the choice, Letho captures Triss and uses magic to teleport her to Aedirn.
If Geralt helps Iorveth, they sail to upper Aedirn. There, they join a rebellion against King Henselt of Kaedwen. Geralt completes three tasks: creating a poison antidote for rebel leader Saskia, finding Triss (who was captured by spies from Nilfgaard and taken to Loc Muinne), and removing a curse that stops rebels from defending their base, Vergen. The rebels defeat Henselt’s army. Henselt agrees to Saskia’s demands. Geralt discovers Saskia is a dragon in human form. She is being controlled by her advisor, the sorceress Philippa Eilhart. When Philippa teleports Saskia and herself to Loc Muinne, Geralt and Iorveth follow.
If Geralt helps Roche, Roche has Geralt kill Loredo for treason. Geralt and Roche sail to upper Aedirn. They also join the rebellion against Henselt but support the king instead of fighting him. Geralt finds out loyalists in Henselt’s army believe he is working with Nilfgaard. Geralt completes three tasks: finding Triss (who was captured by a Nilfgaardian delegation and taken to Loc Muinne), removing a curse from Henselt, and removing a curse that stops Henselt from attacking the city of Vergen. Geralt protects Henselt from two witcher assassins. He helps Dethmold, a mage and royal advisor, discover that Henselt’s army is in league with Síle de Tansarville, who has fled to Loc Muinne with Philippa Eilhart and the mind-controlled Saskia. Roche is revealed to be plotting against Kaedwen. Henselt executes most of Roche’s soldiers in retaliation. When Henselt attacks Vergen, Geralt defeats Henselt’s guards. He can let Roche kill Henselt (causing a civil war) or convince Roche to spare the king. Geralt and Roche then go to Loc Muinne to find Triss.
Geralt arrives at Loc Muinne with either Iorveth or Roche, depending on whom he helped earlier. Mages have gathered there to form a new magical ruling group called the Conclave. All royal leaders are present. Philippa Eilhart and Síle de Tansarville plan to use the meeting to gain power, using the mind-controlled Saskia as leverage.
If Geralt arrives with Iorveth, he must choose to rescue Triss or Philippa. Philippa is the only person who can break the spell on Saskia, but she was captured and blinded by the king of Redania. If Geralt arrives with Roche, he must choose to rescue Triss or the kidnapped Princess Anais of Temeria. If Triss is rescued, she reveals the sorceresses’ plot. If not, Nilfgaardian forces arrive with Letho, who exposes the plan. The meeting is interrupted again by Saskia, who attacks in dragon form. Geralt chases Síle, who tries to escape using a magical teleporter. Letho sabotaged the teleporter, trapping Síle. Geralt can save Síle or let her be destroyed. Geralt then fights Saskia. He can kill her, let her live, or break the spell on her if he rescued Philippa earlier.
If Triss is rescued, the Conclave is restored, and mages work to seal Loc Muinne. If Triss is not rescued, a violent attack on magic users happens in Loc Muinne and across the Northern Kingdoms. Geralt finally confronts Letho, who reveals a Nilfgaardian plan to cause chaos in the Northern Kingdoms. Geralt can let Letho go or fight him. Geralt reunites with Triss and either Iorveth or Roche, then travels south. Another part of the game shows Geralt trying to remember his past life, learn about his love, Yennefer, and the mythical Wild Hunt. A scene after the credits shows a peasant seeing a Nilfgaardian invasion, setting up The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Development
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was announced on September 18, 2009. CD Projekt Red created a special game engine called REDengine for this game. The first game used a modified version of BioWare's Aurora Engine. The game also uses the Havok physics engine to make movements and actions more realistic.
The Witcher 2 includes a dialogue system where choices affect the story. All dialogue was recorded in London, England, with actors. Developers said the game would have 16 different endings, but later explained these were 16 different ways the story could end. The game was inspired by games like Demon's Souls, Heavy Rain, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
CD Projekt Red released the first gameplay video on March 25, 2011, showing how players could complete levels. Another video was shown at Gamescom 2011, showing characters and settings. An Xbox 360 version was announced on June 2, 2011, with a planned release by the end of the year. However, the release date was moved to early 2012 to improve the game and resolve legal issues.
At the game's announcement, CD Projekt Red said their parent company, CD Projekt, would distribute the game in Poland and Central Europe. A contract with Agora S.A. allowed co-production in Poland. Distribution deals were already made with Atari in North America and 1C Company/Snowball Studios in Russia. A European plan was still being discussed. On May 25, 2010, Namco Bandai Partners was chosen to distribute the game in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East.
On April 14, 2011, CD Projekt Red said retail copies would include SecuRom DRM. This system allowed unlimited installations on any number of computers, but limited play to five computers at once. The game had no censorship differences between regions. It was sold through services like Steam and GOG.com. The GOG.com version had no DRM at release.
On May 3, 2011, Namco Bandai Partners Australia said the Australian version would be edited to meet the MA15+ rating. This change involved a side quest where Geralt automatically refuses a sexual reward. The game was removed from the Australian Steam store three weeks earlier, causing concern. GOG.com raised the price for the Australian version but allowed pre-orders at the original price 17 hours before the change.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was released for PC on May 17, 2011, in stores and through services like GOG and Steam.
On June 30, 2011, THQ became the distributor for the Xbox 360 version in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East, replacing Namco Bandai Partners. On July 8, 2011, Namco Bandai sued CD Projekt Red for breaking a contract. On December 8, 2011, Namco Bandai won the lawsuit, ending CD Projekt Red's agreement with THQ.
On October 21, 2011, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment became the North American distributor for the Xbox 360 version.
UK supermarket Tesco released the Xbox 360 version on April 13, 2012, four days early, and later removed it until the scheduled date. Spike Chunsoft published the Xbox 360 version in Japan.
GOG.com lowered the price of The Witcher a week before the sequel's release and encouraged players to transfer saves from the first game. Steam offered three items for Team Fortress 2: a hat, sword, and necklace for the Scout class. The May 2011 issue of the Polish Playboy magazine featured Triss on the cover. In Russia, 1C Company released a real-life nude calendar with the game. When President Barack Obama visited Poland in May 2011, Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave him a Collector's Edition of The Witcher 2.
On January 27, 2012, CD Projekt Red announced an "Enhanced Edition" of The Witcher 2 through GOG.com. It was released on April 17, 2012, for Xbox 360 and PC via Steam and GOG.com. Existing owners received free upgrades starting April 11, 2012. The Enhanced Edition added over 10 GB of new content, including four hours of gameplay, arena mode, a new tutorial, 36 minutes of cinematics, and fixes to the game and interface.
Reception
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings received "generally favorable" reviews. It has won over 50 awards for categories such as best graphics, best use of a license, best story, best PC game, best RPG, and Game of the Year. During the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated The Witcher 2 for "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year."
Critics praised aspects such as combat mechanics, customization, graphics, environments, immersion, and storytelling. PC Gamer noted that combat mechanics and the game's ending were less strong. 1UP's Tom Chick gave the game an "A" rating, highlighting its "rich graphics that don't have to be flashy, complex challenging combat, and superlative low-fantasy writing." The game received perfect scores from some sources, with GamePro stating, "The Witcher 2 embodies everything that's good about PC development, and everything that makes it, in my mind, the best platform out there." Game Informer gave the game a "platinum score" and noted that "the brilliant dark fantasy adventure is just as good on console" as it was on PC.
Some players found the combat difficulty challenging, especially during the game's first hours. Eurogamer praised the difficulty of the prologue, explaining that "[the game] treats you not as a player … but as an adult, free to make your own mistakes and suffer a plot in which not everyone gets what they deserve."
The game was criticized for scenes with nudity, particularly a topless scene featuring the character Maria Louisa La Valette. Rock, Paper, Shotgun described the scene as "gratuitous nudity," noting that her "brazen breasts" sexualized a moment that should be serious. Other critics argued the scene was realistic, as a woman in the real world facing torture might be bare-breasted.
In June 2014, the game received mainstream media attention when U.S. President Barack Obama mentioned it in a speech in Poland. He said:
"The last time I was here, [Polish Prime Minister] Donald [Tusk] gave me a gift, the video game developed here in Poland that's won fans the world over, The Witcher. I confess, I'm not very good at video games, but I've been told that it is a great example of Poland's place in the new global economy. And it's a tribute to the talents and work ethic of the Polish people as well as the wise stewardship of Polish leaders like Prime Minister Tusk."
The Witcher 2 had reportedly sold more than 940,000 copies by August 2011, a sales rate that CD Projekt Red had projected. Of the 940,000 copies sold, 200,000 were online sales (digital sales).
Additional statistics for online sales were reported in November 2011. Direct2Drive, Impulse, and Gamersgate combined sold 10,000 units. GOG sold 40,000 copies. During the same time period, 200,000 copies of The Witcher 2 were sold on Steam.
By May 2012, the game had sold 1.7 million copies. By February 2013, combined sales of the game and its predecessor exceeded 5 million. By March 2014, The Witcher series had sold 7 million copies of both games. By September 2014, the series reached 8 million copies.
CD Projekt CEO Michał Nowakowski stated in January 2026 that The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
Sequel
The game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was announced by CD Projekt Red on February 5, 2013. It was released on May 19, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.