Gothic - The Expansion that Never Was

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@GamePressure Gothic could have had an expansion but it never came to pass. Some of the mystery behind the expansion has now been revealed.

Not many Gothic fans know that back in 2001 Piranha Bytes began working on an expansion under the working title of Gothic Sequel. We give you a glimpse of this forgotten project, pieces of which were incorporated in the later installments of the series.

For hardcore Gothic fans, the story of the series is like an emotional roller coaster - an ebb and flow of memories of joy and excitement mixed with sadness, disappointment, and even anger. In the eyes of many, the phenomenal first Gothic and the Gothic II expansion Night of the Raven were the apex of the series; the third installment, in turn, heralded the gradual decline that was to follow. Not many know, however, that the history could have turned out very differently... All thanks to an expansion for the first, now iconic, entry in the Gothic series. An expansion that never came to be.

Up until recently, the expansion has been shrouded in mystery. Only thanks to an info leak that appeared near the end of the last year on a Russian website World of Players did we learn a decent amount of facts on the project known under the working title of Gothic Sequel. The facts that otherwise may have been forever forgotten are now available across the web to anyone interested. Well then, what was Gothic Sequel meant to become and how much of it found its way into subsequent works of Piranha Bytes? Let's find out.

Two Youtube videos served as inspiration and source of information for this article, both created by people who have access to a playable version of the Gothic Sequel expansion, game files and manuals created by Piranha Bytes. You'll find links to their websites at the bottom of the article, unfortunately they are non-English sources.

To give you an idea of just how serious the matter is, and to vouch for the authenticity of the info acquired by World of Players, let me just say that Piranha themselves took interest in it and threatened to take legal action unless both the thread and game files were removed.
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