The Witcher series passes 25m copies sold

Developer CD Projekt has announced some big numbers for its now smash-hit RPG series The Witcher.

Total cumulative sales of the series, which now spans three titles, have now passed 25m global unit sales. Furthermore, sales of the Witcher 3 and its expansions have passed PLN 1bn (PolishZloty), which is just over 200m or $250m.

As for CD Projekt overall, its 2016 numbers were down 25 per cent on 2015, but considering the previous year saw the release of The Witcher 3 and 2016 saw only the Blood and Wine expansion pack hit the market, that’s actually pretty impressive.

These excellent financial results for the past two years enable us to pursue new, ambitious undertakings and further expand our enterprise,” VP for financial affairs Piotr Nielubowicz said. Key development projects currently underway include Cyberpunk 2077 and GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. In 2016 alone CD PROJEKT spent nearly PLN 56m (11.3m) on projects in progress.

President Adam Kici?ski added: For years we have consistently prioritized quality and focused on a limited range of products. The persistently strong sales of the entire The Witcher series vindicate our approach and contribute to long-term appeal of our releases.

This year we will continue to expand The Witcher brand – it is, after all, the year of GWENT. We’re in the process of organizing the game’s first major tournament, with a 100 thousand USD prize pool.”

The news brings into sharper focus the comments made by the creator and author of the Witcher book series earlier this week, who 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 toldEurogamerof 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."