Witcher studio sends dev toolset RedKit to beta

The Witcher studio CD Projekt Red has sent its dev toolset RedKit for developers to create mods and new games into beta.

Based on its own in-house game engine, called REDengine, which was used to create The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the devkit will allowed users to create “a living world” and use “advanced landscape design tools”.

The toolkit also includes thousands of ready-made assets, the ability to simulate 24-hour day-and-night-cycles, as well as the chance to modify the original game. Developers can also edit dialogue.

RedKit is currently in a closed beta, with more than 100 modding teams given access to help assist development of the tools and game engine.

The toolset is set to be released in the first half of 2013 for free to owners of The Witcher 2.

The modding scene has become increasingly popular for developers and many players alike over the last ten years, with titles such as Counter-Strike and Natural Selection stemming from mods and making it into full, paid-for standalone releases.

The most recent success from the sector is ArmA II mod DayZ, which has exploded in popularity since its release earlier this year, with more than 1.3million unique players registering to play the game.

Helping spark a resurgence in game sales of ArmA II on Steam and keeping it a constant top seller on the digital platform, DayZ is now set to get its own standalone retail release with creator Dean Hall heading development.