Witcher 3 has beard growth AND anti-beard growth DLC

If Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis System was next-gen’s first real leap, then perhaps today we have learned of the second.

Eurogamer reports that The Witcher 3 protagonist Geralt Rivia will not just progress the plot as he advances through the upcoming game – he will also develop a beard. Our immediate question of course is whether we’re talking long, dignified Gandalf or Dumbledore proportions. But alas not.

The beard grows as time passes and when Geralt moves between locations,” CD Projekt’s communications chief Michal Platkow-Gilewski said. The beard has several ‘states’ and these states determine its length – the longest is really long but it’s not Gandalf-long.”

Boo.

There is a risk to this strategy, of course. What if Geralt’s fine mane is off-putting to pogonophobes and has a detrimental effect on the game’s sales?

When you download the free Beard and Hairstyle DLC the growth of the beard will stop because we decided that when players want a predefined look, it would be weird to require from them to reapply it time after time,” Platkow-Gilewski added.

That’s your anti-beard DLC right there. I think we can all agree this story delivers on many fronts.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is currently due out on PS4, Xbox One and PC on May 19th.