Screenshot of The Witcher: a mobile AR game like Pokemon Go. It's a mobile AR game like Pokémon Go, where you look at the world through your phone's camera to find creatures, but it's based on The Witcher, so instead of a big-eyed bulbasaurus, you run into a creepy-ass griffin on a roof or find a mutilated horse in a park Maybe. Neat!

In today's news, "The Witcher" (originally titled "The Witcher") will be released this month on July 21 for iOS and Android. It is produced by Polish developer Spokko, which was acquired in 2018 by CD Projekt, creators of The Witcher RPG trilogy. Monster Slayer is set "long before the time of Geralt of Livia". (I think that's when Starbucks existed.)

However, there are human characters who talk to you; according to Spokko, Monster Slayer's quests will not be superficial, but "a deep, story-driven adventure inspired by the Witcher series." I'll reserve judgment on this point until I see more than a man who looks like he drank too much at Renfair yelling "Save the Witcher" from the pathway of a city park.

Aside from that scene, the gameplay trailer released last year (embedded below) also gives us a glimpse of the Witcher's sense of tracking monsters, fighting them (it looks like a simple block and slash timing game), investigating horse decimation, and stocking up on potions and stocking up on potions. The takeaway for me is that Monster Slayer is not intended as a visual toy: the novelty of coming across a watering hole in a park is somewhat appealing, but there is some gameplay here. We'll find out later this month if it's any good.

It's a strange time for The Witcher and CD Projekt. The Witcher 3 is regarded as one of the best RPGs for the PC, and six years after its release, its world has become even more popular. The first season of the Netflix Witcher show starring Henry Cavill was a hit, creating a new wave of interest in the game and the books by Anjay Sapkovsky, on which the show is based. However, as far as we know, no new Witcher RPG is in development; CD Projekt is also developing a spin-off card game, Gwent, but otherwise seems to be focused on salvaging the legacy of Cyberpunk 2077. [CD Projekt will co-host WitcherCon with Netflix on Friday, July 9, with a live stream detailing the show's second season and other Witcher-related media. The Polish game maker has already said that it does not intend to announce a new Witcher game there. If they are working on a new game, they have been very silent about it, although they have not ruled out the possibility.

As for The Witcher: The Witcher: Monster Slayer, which will be released on July 21, it will be free for basic play. It is not known what will be sold in the app, but Pokéballs will be sold in "Pokémon Go," as well as essential items that can be earned by playing.

If you're willing to leave your PC and roam around Dank Wilderness (a vacant lot somewhere) fighting endriagus (giant scorpions) and have an Android phone, you can pre-register for the game on Google Play, which will also support iOS. And someone will surely launch this game on a PC with fake GPS coordinates to piss off people who are legitimately walking around the parking lot looking for the striga. Let's give it a try at our municipal park later this month.