Witcher Remake devs’ promising paranormal detective RPG The Thaumaturge slides back to a 2024 release

Mystical dark-fantasy RPG The Thaumaturge has been delayed into next year, as its developers say they’ll need until February to polish up the story-driven game to the standards they’re aiming for.

The Thaumaturge popped up earlier this year, presenting a sort of blend of Divinity: Original Sin-esque CRPGing, Persona-ish personal demons made real and the eastern European fantasy of The Witcher – albeit mixed there with some real-life historical reimagining that includes a cameo from everyone’s favourite mystic Grigori Rasputin. Those particular touchstones aren’t much of a surprise, given that developers Fool’s Theory previously worked on The Witcher Remake and chipped in on Larian’s Div games, too.

Katharine was intrigued by what she saw of titular thaumaturge Wiktor Szulski’s adventures back in the spring, impressed by the blend of detective investigation in early 20th-century Warsaw, supernatural mystery and turn-based battling.

The rest of us will have to wait a little longer than expected to give it a go for ourselves, as Fool’s Theory and publisher 11 bit Studios – they of Frostpunk and This War of Mine – have just announced that The Thaumaturge’s release date has slipped back by more than two months into next year.

Its original release date of December 5th – in just a few weeks’ time – has been replaced by a new launch date on February 20th 2024. The game will also be headed to PS5 and Xbox once it hits PC.

We’re giving @thaumaturgegame some extra development time to put the finishing touches on the game.

📕Add The Thaumaturge to your wishlist: https://t.co/Kqr82mhanX@11bitstudios pic.twitter.com/O8DRhVN7jG

— Fool’s Theory (@Fools_Theory) November 15, 2023

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According to the team, the extra development time is needed to give the game an extra bit of polish and “achieve the standards that players have come to expect from them”.

“As the finishing touches were put on the game over recent weeks, the team saw the opportunity to add more polish and quality, and given they have the comfort to allow themselves some extra time the decision was made to delay,” they said.

It’s a shame but, honestly, given the glut of games this year, I’m somewhat relieved that such an interesting-looking game – especially another CRPG, after this year’s Baldur’s Gate 3 bonanza – will have a bit more room to breathe. If that results in making an even better game, I’m all for it – I’ll be looking forward to diving into The Thaumaturge next February.