It seems like only yesterday that Atari and developer CD Projekt Red announced a console edition of their award winning (and incredibly amazing) PC role-player. News has hit the pipes today that the console version, originally scheduled to ship on Xbox360 and Playstation 3 this fall (subtitled “Rise of the White Wolf”) is no more. The developer cites the global economic woes as the reason for this particular fatality. 

Buried in the news is a sort of confirmation that while “Rise of the White Wolf” is no more, the team has been folded into the crew working on the full blown sequel to The Witcher. Thankfully, The Witcher 2 (or whatever it will eventually be called) will be a multiplatform title, and will hopefully release simultaneously on PC and consoles. 

For those not in the know: 

The Witcher tells the story of Geralt of Rivia, slayer of monsters and vanquisher of demons. Geralt is an elite member of an ancient order of hunters called “The Wicthers”. The game is a high fantasy role-player with a deep combat system featuring multiple attack styles, a huge, beautifully rendered world, and an intelligent, mature story that touches on complex issues and offers the player morality choices that stretch beyond the typically black and white decisions of the genre. It was nominated for several PC game of the year awards in 2007 (and won a fair share). 

Rise of the White Wolf, announced in late 2008, would have brought the storyline and overall experience of the PC game to consoles with a revised control scheme and more console-friendly combat system, and an all new graphics engine that was looking quite stunning. 

Sad news for me, as this one pretty much topped my list of “most wanted” titles for the remainder of 2009. 

News comes via Gamebanshee