A pair of modern European PC classics are on sale at digital distributors, with The Witcher reduced by 50% and a grand 75% off S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

The coarse fantasy world of The Witcher can now be entered for $20 on Steam and Impulse. The discounts celebrate the worldwide digital availability of CD Projekt RED's fantastic fantasy RPG, which had previously been unavailable in many regions.

Those who fall for GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl fall hard, so the open-world RPG-ish shooter is worth a punt for $5 on Steam. Should you be bitten by the radioactive bug, DirectX 11-enabled sequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is due to hit North America in 2010, with gameplay closer to SoC than its prequel 'Clear Sky.'

CD Projekt, the Polish developer of the cult favorite PC RPG The Witcher, is set to be acquired by the "nearly defunct" Polish computer company Optimus S.A. In an easily confusing set of financial trickery, the move will actually allow the owners of CD Projekt to become the owners of the new public company, enabling the once-private company to go public on the stock exchange.

"Since Optimus is a stock market company, CD Projekt will in fact go public and have access to all stock instruments," said a CD Projekt spokesperson to Kotaku. "Ultimately, this means money for future development of the whole company."

Original: The debut trailer for the follow-up to CD Projekt's PC RPG The Witcher has cropped up on YouTube. Though the video is boldly marked for "internal use only," the slick presentation has many suspecting a coordinated release. Regardless of the circumstance, here's the first look at the game, subtitled "Assassins of Kings."

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Update: "We can't and won't try to deny the facts," CD Project RED CEO Adam Kicinski said of the leaked video in a statement, explaining "we are looking for a potential publisher (or publishers) for this title, and this leak is an uncontrolled... Read more

To celebrate nudity's return to North American copies of The Witcher in its Director's Cut, Steam has slashed CD Projekt Red's action RPG's price by 30% down to $27.99.

The Witcher proved a surprisingly refreshing, engaging, and mature RPG, silly "sex cards" aside. FileShack plays host to a demo if you want to try before you buy.

The offer will run until August 12, though bear in mind Steam will be down for a few hours' maintenance tonight and The Witcher is unavailable on Steam in some regions.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut patch is now available on FileShack, which developer CD Projekt Red explains will restore North American copies of The Witcher to "the version of the game our developers originally intended for you to play."

What that means is your Witcher will now boast all the glorious digital lady bits that were censored in North America, including this unsurprisingly risque "sex card" shown here.

All North American digital distribution platforms will now sell the action RPG's Director's Cut in place of the plain old Enhanced Edition.

CD Projekt has updated us with a release date for The Witcher Director's Cut, pegging the uncensored title's debut for Friday, July 31. Though the studio has been coyly vague in its description of the patch, the DC will essentially revert The Witcher to the international version of the game, patching nudity back into the title's titillating "sex cards."

The cut will be available as a new "definitive" version of the game for purchase, as well as a free patch for owners of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition.

CD Projekt today officially announced The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut, essentially a North American release of the nudity-enhanced European version of the game. The Director's Cut will be available as a free patch for Enhanced Edition owners, in addition to a standalone product available on TheWitcher.com, Steam, Impulse and Direct2Drive. The full download will include the recent 1.5 patch, making the Director's Cut the new definitive version of The Witcher.

No details on a release date yet.

CD Projekt RED has released patch 1.5 for The Witcher, available in a 371MB download over on FileShack, which removes the action RPG's DRM and disc check, fixes an EAX-related graphics problem, and adds five new community-created adventures.

The patch's announcement in June contained the revelation that The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut is planned for release in North America, presumably uncensoring all the nipples and other private parts that the rest of the world was allowed to enjoy.

CD Projekt RED is to release The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut for North America, the studio slyly revealed in an announcement concerning an upcoming patch.

The North American release of the action RPG was touched by the censor's hand, with certain portions of the female anatomy covered up through clever image manipulation. The "Director's Cut" tag would suggest a reversal but RED is playing it coy for now, with marketing vice president Tom Ohle saying only "you might be able to guess what it is."

The casual reveal came in an announcement for The Witcher's forthcoming patch 1.5, which adds five new fan-made missions and removes all DRM--disc check included.

CD Projekt RED recently suspended production on The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, its "completely rebuilt" Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of the PC game following disputes with co-developer Widescreen Games over performance and payment.

Having sold over 1.2 million copies since its October 2007 debut, The Witcher is now among the 100 best-selling PC games of all time, claims developer CD Projekt RED.

"Because of those numbers, The Witcher has jumped onto the list of the 100 bestselling PC games in history," CD Projekt RED marketing coordinator Karol Zajaczkowski wrote in a forum post announcing the 1.2 million unit milestone.

The 1.2 million figure includes both retail and digital distribution sales, a CD Projekt representative confirmed with Shacknews.

Based off the works of Andrzej Sapkowski, the morally ambiguous fantasy role-playing game saw an enhanced re-release arrive last year with new content. A rebuilt console version, The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, will hit PS3 and Xbox 360 this fall.

A new patch for CD Projekt RED's The Witcher Enhanced Edition is now available on FileShack, resolving issues that have apparently sparked community outcry.

Specifically, the update provides proper support for Creative Labs' EAX technology, so that the game no longer produces "critical errors" when the option is activated. It also removes the blur that lingered on-screen after cutscenes and dialog choices.

In case you missed it earlier this year, those that purchased the original release of the well-received PC fantasy RPG can upgrade to the Enhanced Edition for free through a series of patches, which bring a revised script and more quests to the game.

With developer CD Projekt RED teasing a major announcement, a supposed leaked video has revealed that the developer's well-received PC RPG The Witcher is heading to PS3 and Xbox 360 and will "look much better" than the PC release.

"The controls are very different in the console adaptation," designer Jakob Stilinsky stated in the video, embedded below. "They are actually better than in the original."

"We created a completely new combat system that is more dynamic and more engaging," he added. "In the console version, players have full control. There are hundreds of new mo-cap animations in the console version."

Along with a new combat and motion-captured animations, the release will sport enhanced visuals, with Stilinsky claiming the console versions "look much better."

When reached for comment, CD Projekt marketing VP Tom Ohle did not confirm or deny the game's existence, telling Shacknews: "We haven't made any official statements about upcoming games... before anyone blows a gasket about... Read more

CD Projekt, the developers of last year's surprise PC RPG hit The Witcher, today released a new trailer thanking fans for their support of the company.

As a gesture of appreciation, CD Projekt also threw in a few brief shots of future company titles, including the recently-acquired Metropolis Software's shooter THEY, and what appears to be footage from a new Witcher game.

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Noting the number represent sales to "real, live people" playing on a platform some have declared "dead", CD Projekt RED announced that its debut project The Witcher (PC) has sold through one million copies since the game's release twelve months ago. "We created The Witcher with the intent of becoming an acclaimed and successful development studio that always made games for its fans; we spent more than $11 million developing The Witcher and the Enhanced Edition, and it sure is nice to make some of that money back!" said CEO Adam Kicinski about the milestone.

CD Projekt followed the original release of The Witcher with an Enhanced Edition last month, offering re-recorded dialogue, additional NPCs models, improved load times and many other improvements. The company also recently launched Good Old Games, a digital distribution platform for classic PC games.

Now available on FileShack are the promised patches that bring the changes and additions of The Witcher Enhanced Edition to those that bought the initial release of CD Projekt RED's PC fantasy RPG.

• The Witcher Original to Enhanced Edition Patch
• The Witcher Original to EE English Language Pack
• The Price of Neutrality Adventure
• Side Effects Adventure

The above downloads include a new script, two new adventures separate from the main story, improved loading times, an adventure editor, additional animations, and more.

Additional language packs and bonus content, such as a downloadable soundtrack, can be found on the game's official site.

Upon running the patch, both it and the language pack need to be in the same directory. The installation process also requires you to be online so that "registration data can be verified," and that you use the same PC used to activate the original game.

Following word that the North American release of The Witcher Enhanced Edition (PC) was lacking blood, developer CD Projekt RED has provided FileShack with a patch that rectifies the oversight.

The patch will also be available through digital distribution clients, such as Direct2Drive and Steam, for those that purchased the fantasy RPG through such services.

"I admit we missed a file in the North American version of the game," explained marketing VP Tom Ohle. "I bear the olive branch... OF BLOOD."

Meanwhile, those that own the initial release of The Witcher will gain access to the additions of the Enhanced Edition, including two new adventures and a new translation, in a free patch slated to arrive tomorrow.

Update: The blood patch is now available.

Original Story: This week's re-release of CD Projekt RED's fantasy PC RPG The Witcher inadvertently removed blood from the US edition of the game, the developer has confirmed.

A fix will be available "ASAP," CD Projekt marketing VP Tom Ohle told Shacknews.

Dubbed The Witcher Enhanced Edition, the re-release packs a new translation, additional quests, improved loading times, an adventure editor, and more.

"Spent a year making the game perfect and someone forgot to include one file that turns blood on," Ohle noted. "There is blood, but it's basically on the lowest setting."

The developer was not sure if this issue will afflict those that update the original US release of The Witcher with tomorrow's free patch, which brings all of the new content to existing owners of the game.

As the retail version of The Witcher Enhanced Edition (PC) makes its way to stores around the world this week, developer CD Projekt has confirmed to Shacknews that owners of the first Witcher release will be able to upgrade their game for free this Friday.

The patch will bring all of the improvements of the Enhanced Edition to the regular edition of the fantasy RPG, including a retranslated script along with two new adventures, improved loading times, an adventure editor, new animations, a greater variety of NPCs, and other tweaks.

Developer CD Projekt RED and publisher Atari have issued a new trailer for The Witcher Enhanced Edition, which boasts that "the best reaches perfection."

Sporting a reworked translation, new content and a multitude of fixes, the Enhanced Edition will be available in September as a free patch for existing owners of the PC RPG, with a goodie-filled retail re-release hitting stores at the same time.

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The first few screenshots from The Witcher Enhanced Edition are now available, showing off the updated version of CD Projekt's role playing game.

The upcoming re-release of the game will update just about everything including NPC variety, animations and dialogue translation. The Witcher Enhanced Edition will be released this September as a retail product, and as a patch for current owners.