Standalone Gwent confirmed, beta signups open

Update: And here's yer trailer. CD Projekt has confirmed the arrival of Gwent on-stage, and the beta will arrive in September.

Original: The rumors are true: a standalone Gwent card game is on the way. This news comes not from E3—although I'm expecting it—but the official Play Gwent site that's already live. More importantly, it's already taking beta sign-ups.

Witcher 3 players ought to be familiar with the rules, but there's a interesting twist: an open, event-based world. "To be released in episodes, the story unfolding in the campaign will feature the choice and consequence mechanic the Witcher games are known for."

If you're not a Witcher 3 player or you skipped out on all the Gwent, there's already a short tutorial on the site.

There's a trailer, currently set to private. We'll update you as soon as it goes live.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.