The Witcher 3: Geralt’s Beard Grows Over Time

Beards grow over time, but never in games, where they're often as static as the worlds they're in. Not so with The Witcher 3, along with its dynamically changing environment and setting, the game's developers at CD Projekt Red have announced that Geralt's beard will grow over the course of the game.

While not as dynamic as say gaining experience points and leveling up, the protagonist's facial hair is set to have a number of beard "states" that are triggered over the course of the game, much in the same way that locations change in response to the player's actions. If players are uninterested in having his beard change over time, they can simply download a free Beard and Hairstyle DLC pack that's in store for the game upon its release.

"The beard grows as time passes and when Geralt moves between locations. The beard has several "states" and these states determine its length – the longest is really long but it's not Gandalf-long," CD Projekt Red's Michael Platkow-Gilewski explained in an interview with GameStar (via Eurogamer).

"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."

The Witcher 3 is out on May 19 for the Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.