Before the success of CD Projekt Red’s video game series, The Witcher, there was (and still is, it’s not gone anywhere) the book series.
Written by Andrzej Sapkowski, the novels and short stories were first published back in 1991, and are now collectively called The Witcher Saga.
CD Projekt Red offered Sapkowski a percentage profit in exchange for the rights to make games on the series. At the time, Sapkowski rejected the company’s offer in favour of an undisclosed lump-sum of cash instead.
This turned out to be a pretty expensive mistake for the author, as the games became immensely successful and made CD Projekt Red some serious bank.
Sure, it pointed players in the direction of Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga, but it definitely didn’t bring him as much money as the original percentage profit offered by the games company.
Last year, Sapkowski asked for $16 million in additional royalties from the company, but CD Projekt Red said his demands were “groundless with regard to their merit as well as the stipulated amount.”
It also said that “all liabilities payable by the Company in association therewith have been properly discharged,” meaning that since Sapkowski had agreed to let the company use his property, he didn’t really have a leg to stand on.
CD Projekt Red seemingly didn’t want to cause any problems for Sapkowski though, as it confirmed it wanted to “maintain good relations with authors of works which have inspired CD Projekt Red’s own creations.”
WCCFTech [via PCGamer] now reports that Polish site, Puls Biznes, has confirmed the parties have come to some sort of agreement, saying that “CD Projekt and Sapkowski [are] closer to the end of the dispute,” with a “reconciliation” on the cards.
By “reconciliation” we can assume they mean a significant cash injection for Sapkowski, though it’s not yet known how much.
I’ve been reading The Witcher books lately and gotta say they are amazing. I also hear the Witcher voice actor when I read and can picture everything in the video game styles. #TheWitcher #Geralt #reading #books #fantasy #awesome
— Joshua Steinert (@BeardEatsMyFace) February 5, 2019
Have you read the Witcher novels?
Featured Image Credit: CD Projekt Red