The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was peculiar in that one of its most entertaining aspects came not from the core gameplay (which, while fun, is certainly lacking some depth), but rather from an in-game card-playing game. "Gwent," as it was called, involved traveling across the world of The Witcher 3 in pursuit of new cards and players, challenging everyone from innkeepers to drunken barons. Once defeated they would yield a unique card, bolstering the player's deck and allowing them to more easily best future opponents.
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Unlike the vast majority of minigames inside larger RPGs, Gwent was actually a lot of fun; it had a surprising amount of thought put into it, which was observable in the many different playstyles and mechanics. Eventually the developers would take note of Gwent's popularity and go on to develop Gwent: The Witcher Card Game as a separate product.
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Today, Gwent is still in early access, with regular updates adding new features and mechanics being released every couple of weeks. The most recent of these is the game's "Social Features" update, which is detailed more in a trailer released over the official Gwent YouTube channel. Take a look:
For those who can't currently view the video: There's been a number of new features added to the game for the purpose of helping players interact with each other and introduce "a community vibe" to Gwent. These are as follows:
- A "News" tab in the main menu. From here players can read about upcoming updates and developer announcements, as well as access a variety of Gwent social media pages.
- The "Player Profile." This page indicates the player's banner, name, title, rank, and highest rank reached. There's also information about the player's total card collection and match history.
- A new friends list has been integrated. You can now chat with, send match requests to, and see the social profiles of friends added in Gwent.
In addition to the above, there's also been a handful of quality-of-life improvements made to the game. The first of these is a minor change to the pack opening process, from which players can now observe a small number indicating how many cards they already own from that pack. Players using a gamepad can now navigate keywords to gain further information in the main menu as well.
The most popular addition however appears to be the inclusion of a new "starter pack" for new players, which yields 400 meteorite powder (a type of crafting ingredient), 10 "card kegs" (which randomly award 5 cards), and at least 1 legendary card.
For more information about Gwent, check out the developers on their official Twitter account, or visit the game's FAQ on its website. The open beta is currently available to sign up for, so feel free to give it a shot if you've got the time and interest.
