We’ve learned from an interview with German site Gamestar (via NeoGAF) that as you play The Witcher 3, Geralt will physically change, and more specifically, grow a beard.

While the original report simply mentioned that Geralt is able to grow a beard, a clarification and further explanation for the entire process was obtained via Eurogamer:

“The beard grows as time passes and when Geralt moves between locations,” said CD Projekt’s communications chief, Michał Platkow-Gilewski. “The beard has several ‘states’ and these states determine its length—the longest is really long but it’s not Gandalf-long.”

However, what if fans don’t want to see a Grizzly Adams version of Geralt? Michał further explained the process:

“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.”

It’s worth mentioning the free Beard and Hairstyle DLC is just one pack out of 16 free individual packs of downloadable content, which are being made available across all platforms.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is launching on May 19th across Windows PCs, Xbox One, and PS4.

[Editor’s note: header image from the Geralt Beard Mod for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]