It is safe to say that when you think of The Witcher, chances are you might be think of CD Projekt Red’s series of games. However for those who are unfamiliar, the game is actually based on a series of books written by Andrzej Sapkowski who agreed to license out the brand and its contents to the company to develop the game.However it seems that he has now decided that the deal he made back in 1997 was not good enough, and has since demanded $16 million in royalties from CD Projekt Red. Sapkowski had actually expressed his regret in an interview with Eurogamer last year, where he did not think the game would be a success where he turned out the company’s offer for a percentage of profits, and instead asked for money upfront.
According to Sapkowski, “I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch. They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, ‘No, there will be no profit at all — give me all my money right now! The whole amount.’ It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn’t believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn’t.”
CD Projekt Red has since responded to the author’s demands where they say, “In the Company’s opinion the demands expressed in the notice are groundless with regard to their merit as well as the stipulated amount. The Company had legitimately and legally acquired copyright to Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski’s work, i.a. insofar as is required for its use in games developed by the Company. All liabilities payable by the Company in association therewith have been properly discharged.”
Exactly how this will be resolved remains to be seen, but the company is hoping to come to an amicable resolution and will go to “great lengths” to achieve it.
Filed in . Read more about Legal and The Witcher.