Witcher creator laments ‘stupid’ decision to shun game revenue share

The creator and author of the Witcher books has admitted that he turned down the chance to claim a share of the successful RPG series’ revenues.

"I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch," Andrzej Sapkowski told Eurogamer of his original deal with Witcher developer CD Projekt. "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."

Sapkowski openly admits that he had no expectations of the games at first, and only agreed to bring the talents he employed in creating the series’ novelisations to the games due to the money being offered.

He also confesses to fearing that his role as creator will be lost over time, with the Witcher being remembered more for its games than for its novels. Nonetheless, Sapkowski, who is not a gamer, concedes that "the game is made very well” and that CD Projekt "merit all of the beneficiaries they get from it”.

Added Sapkowski of the RPGs: "It is not that I don’t like them, that I despise them. I just don’t play them! But I have nothing against games, I have nothing against gamers. Nothing."

Sapkowsk also confirmed that while he is not involved in the game’s English translations, he is sometimes asked for input from the translators. His verdict? "I speak some 15 languages so for me it’s very easy for read the translations and see if they are good or not. Sometimes it’s terrible; sometimes I’m very happy because the spirit, the spirit, is in the translation."