CD Projekt to continue working on 'The Witcher' properties, reaches agreement with series author

By Samuel Tolbert
last updated

Issues have been resolved.

Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

What you need to know

  • CD Projekt had been in a legal disagreement with the author of The Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski.
  • An agreement was reached today, with both parties cooperating moving forward.
  • The agreement also granted CD Projekt new rights to The Witcher.

CD Projekt (the parent company of CD Projekt Red) had recently been in a legal disagreement with Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of The Witcher novels. When Sapkowski originally sold the rights for The Witcher to be developed into a game series, it was in the form of a lump sum payment, instead of CD Projekt's initial offer of a percentage of the overall profit.

After the rousing success the games have seen, Sapkowski's lawyers argued that the initial deal was unlawful and that additional reparations of roughly $16 million USD were needed. Today, CD Projekt announced that both the company and Sapkowski have reached an agreement, with CD Projekt gaining "new rights" and reaffirming the company's rights to The Witcher franchise in video games, graphic novels, board games, and merchandise. The press release also noted that moving forward, both parties have a framework on which to cooperate.

"We've always admired Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski's works — a great inspiration for the team here at CD PROJEKT RED," says Adam Kiciński, President and Joint CEO at CD Projekt. "I believe today marks a new stage in our continued relationship," Kiciński states.

As of the moment, it's unclear what the additional rights refer to exactly. In a previous financial report, CD Projekt Red said it was moving into a "dual-franchise mode" and that Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher were equally important to the company.

A new IP

 (opens in new tab)
Cyberpunk 2077

A big change for CD Projekt RED

Cyberpunk 2077 is looking to be a huge game for CD Projekt RED. The game, set in the corrupt yet thriving Night City, has you track down the secrets to digital immortality however you see best — or just burn the city down.

Xbox (opens in new tab)

Main

Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

5 Comments
  • Sounds like some bullcrap. It's amazing how you can sign away rights and then still sue later because you realized you made a mistake initially. What is the point of contracts in the first place? Too bad starving artists that got screwed in the early American music record company deals did not have this opportunity.
  • I feel like they probably did it out of respect more than anythiing, I think if they went to court the author would've got slapped around, but it would've made CD Projekt look kinda mean in the process. Negative PR is sometimes not worth the effort.
  • I understand that, I'm not talking about giving more money. I'm talking about just the act of TRYING to sue and lawyers claiming a previous deal unlawful. It just amazes me what is allowed to go through the courts.
  • Agreed, the writer made a bad call initially and he should have accepted that instead of crying to his lawyers.
  • Based on the information provided here, it sounds like CD Projekt have now gained the rights to do more with the franchise than they got in their original deal so, while the author sounds like an ass for trying to get more for the games than he originally signed for, it seems like a win-win.