The Witcher Website announces the new patch is now available for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, updating the RPG sequel to version 1.1, offering performance improvements, bug fixes, and "non-problematic" installation of the free DLC for the game (the patch actually includes "Troll Trouble" free DLC). In an unexpected development, the patch also removes the DRM from all versions of the game (the edition purchased through GOG.com had no DRM from the start). They offer the patch as a manual download, saying this will not download through the auto-patching system from the game launcher. There are several patches for different editions and localizations of the game, and some or all of these are mirrored on AtomicGamer Gamer's Hell, PC Games Forever, and The Patches Scrolls. Update: The Steam version of the update is now automatically available. Here's word:

Adam Badowski, CD Projekt RED Development Director, commented, “Our goal is to make our fans and customers happy and to reward them for buying our game and DRM schemes does not support our philosophy as they might create obstacles for users of legally bought copies. Our approach to countering piracy is to incorporate superior value in the legal version. This means it has to be superior in every respect: less troublesome to use and install, with full support, and with access to additional content and services. So, we felt keeping the DRM would mainly hurt our legitimate users. This is completely in line with what we said before the release of The Witcher 2. We felt DRM was necessary to prevent the game being pirated and leaked before release. This purpose has been served, so we are pleased to let our users enjoy the full freedom of game usage they deserve.”

Badowski also explained CD Projekt RED’s stance on DRM from another perspective, "It’s important to remember that the PC platform is far more complex than consoles. DRM adds another layer of complication and potential problems. We saw this clearly in our game. Pre-release tests showed only small performance differences compared to the DRM-free (GOG.com) versions. We were unpleasantly surprised when some of our fans reported much larger differences, up to 30% lower framerates. This was another clear signal that we had to remove DRM as soon as possible – the quality of our users’ gameplay experience is absolutely our number one priority!"