CD Projekt RED issued a press release yesterday, announcing that it has 'solidified' its relationship with Andrej Sapkowski, the author of the Witcher saga.
Adam Kiciński, President and Joint CEO of CD Projekt RED, stated:
We’ve always admired Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski’s works — a great inspiration for the team here at CD PROJEKT RED. I believe today marks a new stage in our continued relationship.
The press release further notes that the new agreement 'fully satisfies' both parties and therefore sets a framework for future cooperation between the Witcher creator and CD Projekt RED. Additionally, the agreement apparently grants new rights to the Polish game developer and publisher, though it is not clarified which ones. As far as we knew, CDPR already had perpetual rights to the Witcher franchise when it comes to gaming. Still, it's worth remembering that the author of Witcher and CDPR didn't always have the best relationship; the author requested an additional $16 million payment and later reportedly got compensation indeed. When viewed in such a perspective, it is clearly in the best interest of CDPR to keep him on their good side.
It is certainly no coincidence that this announcement came on the very same day Netflix released the highly anticipated Witcher TV adaptation, starring Henry Cavill as Geralt, the titular Witcher. The popularity of Geralt of Rivia has literally skyrocketed since the universally acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launched in 2015. The character has since been featured on other games, such as Bandai Namco's Soul Calibur VI and CAPCOM's Monster Hunter World.
The Netflix show has nothing to do with CD Projekt RED itself, however, its mere existence will indirectly benefit the Polish developer and publisher when it comes to selling Witcher games and merchandise. It is also widely believed that CDPR will focus on developing a new Witcher game after Cyberpunk 2077 ships in a few months, although it may not focus on Geralt of Rivia anymore, as many fans believe his protege Ciri could take his place as the new main character of the series.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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