There's a new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt trailer out, and it's not for the faint of heart.

The new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt trailer is the actual game's opening cinematic, and it follows up on Geralt's story in a grisly introduction.

Developer CD Projekt Red has confirmed the new Witcher game is the conclusion of Geralt's story arc, and the new trailer hints as much.

Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt of Rivia's love, demonstrates how to do a head shot using a raven as projectile; this is apparently a skill she has mastered, as part of her arsenal of spells.

The short cinematic has Geralt and his mentor Vesemir hot on Yennefer's tracks, on the aftermath of a battle where she just mercilessly dominated. Geralt's story may or may not end in tragedy, but the buildup apparently ends in a very big bang.

An interview with Senior Level Designer Peter Gelenscer confirms The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world RPG as immersive as Skyrim:

"Because [open world] suits the kind of story we wanted to introduce in the Witcher 3. That possibility only opened up with the new generation of consoles. We felt like we had such a grand story to tell that it would suit it better if we gave it some room to breathe. We also wanted to explore Geralt's profession as a monster hunter, and we wanted to include that properly. We also needed an entire territory dedicated to exploring the lore of the world."

As to the non-linear dynamic of the game, Gelenscer maintains that the narrative remains intact in spite of the variety of choices in side quests and stories.

"It's because we have an extremely dedicated quality assurance team that is paying very close attention to that. We have very good people that are very familiar with the lore and with the previous titles that have made it their mission to maintain that narrative consistency. Our quest designers are constantly reviewing their work as well as their peer's work to make sure everything stays in line and nothing is overlapped by something it shouldn't." (dualpixels.com)

The game releases February 24, 2015 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Watch the new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt trailer here, also at the preview below: