The Witcher Battle Arena is a MOBA game you can take on the go

By Stephany Nunneley

CD Projekt RED has announced a mobile MOBA which allows the player to take on the role of characters from the The Witcher universe.

Available soon on iOS, Android and Windows Phone, players can step into the shoes of kingslayer Letho, the dwarf Zoltan Chivay, the mysterious Operator or sorceress Philippa Eilhart.

The game is free and the only time you have to spend money is if you want to speed up the leveling process. You don’t have to spend money on anything you don’t want to. All items and champions can be unlocked just by playing, even vanity items.

Here’s a list of features provided by the developer:

Accessibility and gameplay above all – The interface and gameplay were designed specifically with mobile devices in mind. Short and intense matches cater to your mobile gaming tastes and promise an exciting adventure on the go.

Free Gaming done right! – Everything in the game is unlockable for free, just by playing the game. Our system is honest, well balanced and doesn’t keep you playing for ages to unlock something. If you want to get something unlocked faster, you can purchase it for a reasonable price. It’s that simple.

Unique heroes – Each hero in the game features an array of unique skills and offers his or her own meta-game style. Try them all, pick your favorite and prepare tactics that will obliterate your opponents in online combat.

Solo and teamplay ready – Play with your friends in an exciting 3 vs. 3 mode, group together against mischievous bots, or play alone if your internet decides to take the day off.

A friendly, supportive community – The Witcher Battle Arena is as much your game as it is ours. As developers, we’re in constant, direct contact with you via our developer blog and social media channels. Speak your mind, we care.

Along with the announcement, many websites were given some hands-on time with the title, and Eurogamer spoke with the game’s project manager Tadek Zielinski regarding the game’s free – not free-to-play – status.

“It won’t be a free-to-play,” said Zielinski. “It will be a free game. A genuinely free game. You know we are fair with gamers. We are known for giving away stuff for free. We believe free is fair. So we wanted to realize our philosophy also with the MOBA game.”

“You will mostly pay for saving time. If you don’t want to farm for your hero you can buy him. And also there are vanity items you pay for. But there will be absolutely no pay to win elements in our game. Pay-to-win, it’s an absolute no go. It’s against our policies. It’s against the philosophy we have at CD Projekt Red.”

Zielinski said the firm’s “reputation is at stake” with the release of the game, which is why the firm is stressing the fact players won’t be “forced to pay for anything.”

He also went on to say the MOBA is part of the firm’s plans to expand the Witcher universe and saw a market in developing a mobile MOBA game.