The author "The Witcher" requires $ 16 million in royalties from CD Projekt Red

The studio bought the rights of the story for an undisclosed amount, turning it into a series of games that was a huge success. In an interview with Eurogamer Sapkowski regretted this decision last year because he did not think the game would do as well.

"I've been stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole group," said Sapkowski at the time. "They've offered me a percentage of their profits." I said, "No, there will be no profit, give me all my money now!" The total amount. "It was stupid, I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I did not believe in their success, but who could predict their success?" I could not.

Sapkowski has now publicly claimed 6% of the profits made during the life of the franchise, which represents more than $ 16 million for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunting alone. It is unclear whether this decision was motivated by years devoted to its lost millions since the game 's success, or whether it was prompted to action after Netflix' s acquisition of The witchertelevision rights (probably for a much higher amount), but CD Projekt Red does not. While Sapkowski's letter makes serious allegations against the studio that violates the Polish law on royalties, CD Projekt Red calls the author's claims "unfounded", noting that "all the commitments of the associated company were correctly paid. "

It is not surprising that Sapkowski is salty. The witcher was a big money producer for CD Projekt Red. The year before Witcher 3The company realized net profits of about $ 2.5 million. The following year, this amount jumped to $ 92.1 million. According to the company's latest financial report, its $ 174 million of cash, equivalents and bank deposits, $ 16 million would not bankrupt them – although the company should consider future transactions if and when. Witcher 4 fate. However, even if he says he hopes to reach an amicable resolution with Sapkowski, it is clearly stated that he will not be paying extra money – this could therefore be a very valuable lesson for the creatives who market their work.