Current Events > Witcher author butthurt the games sold so many, and shamelessly demand money

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/regulatory-announcements/current-report-no-15-2018/

this shit greedy old drunk have gotten several offers from CDPR multiple times and refused it, until he caved in seeing all the moolahs witcher 3 is making.

for example, this is the article from 2017:
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-author-refused-a-profit-sharing-deal-with-cd-projekt-it-was-stupid

i mean, the ego and elitism of this guy is so massive, first he mocked the attempt to make the games, never believe it would be good or successful, then even CDPR still respect him, multiple times offer a percentage share of the profit , he outright refused them. now he whines about waah waah my IP, my shares! whaah whaaah!

which, imo he is entitled to a share of the profits, but with his previous shitty behavior i hope he doesnt get a single penny out of it.
---

which is stark contrast of dmitry glukhovsky, the author of metro series, which he embraced the videogames and utilize it to make most out of the book sales, giving advice and consults to the developer (which sapkovski was offered to when CDPR are making the games) and work as a partner instead of being massive assprick
---

I'm not surprised
---

Yeah, nevermind that his book series would have remained obscure without the games rather than all the languages its been translated to and all the markets its now sold in.
---

To his credit, he doesn't begrudge CD Projekt its success, saying, "The game is made very well, and they merit of all of the beneficiaries they get from it."

Sounds like he's not quite as bitter as you're putting it TC
---

This is why you always take the percentage.
---

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

This is why you always take the percentage.

I think that's easy to say when you look at a success story like this but how likely is that really

Imagine if someone came to you and said they had brewed the best ever IPA and it would blitz the market and a 2% share would make you a multimillionaire. Or you could take a $150k cash payout for some contract work. Honestly which would you pick, knowing that the IPA market is already oversaturated with deadass microbreweries?
---

Yeah, he's infamously know to be bitter about the games' success.
---

DuranOfForcena posted...

this is disappointing. i was thinking about reading the books one of these days, but tbh the author's whole saga of being butthurt over voluntarily signing over the rights for a pittance cuz he thought they were gonna do a shitty game that wouldn't sell, it's all fucking ridiculous, and this is a new level of ridiculousness, and it makes me not want to read the books at all. as a fan of the witcher games, i just find the level of butthurt coming from him to be intolerable. and as an amateur writer and aspiring author myself, i really have to question why one would sign away the rights to your IP in the first place to someone in whom you have no confidence that they will do it justice.

Separate rhe artists from the art tbh. If you feel the books are worth reading, do it, but doesnt mean you support the guy of his actions.
---

@apolloooo

I was just coming in to mention the Metro series and the writer Dmitry Glukhovsky with how he is the stark contrast of the guy behind The Witcher. He not only supports and consults for the game but allows fans, and other writers to contribute to the Metro universe to the point he advertises the extended universe on the official Metro site.

The Witcher writer is an example of how not to be and he is a sad little joke, while Mr. Dmitry Glukhovsky is setting the example of how to do it right.

My hats off to you for knowing this stuff as well and for being a fellow Metro Series fan.
---

apolloooo posted...

DuranOfForcena posted...

this is disappointing. i was thinking about reading the books one of these days, but tbh the author's whole saga of being butthurt over voluntarily signing over the rights for a pittance cuz he thought they were gonna do a shitty game that wouldn't sell, it's all fucking ridiculous, and this is a new level of ridiculousness, and it makes me not want to read the books at all. as a fan of the witcher games, i just find the level of butthurt coming from him to be intolerable. and as an amateur writer and aspiring author myself, i really have to question why one would sign away the rights to your IP in the first place to someone in whom you have no confidence that they will do it justice.

Separate rhe artists from the art tbh. If you feel the books are worth reading, do it, but doesnt mean you support the guy of his actions.

Yeah, and just borrow the books from the library or a friend if you don't want to give the author money.
---

RiKuToTheMiGhtY posted...

@apolloooo

I was just coming in to mention the Metro series and the writer Dmitry Glukhovsky with how he is the stark contrast of the guy behind The Witcher. He not only supports and consults for the game but allows fans, and other writers to contribute to the Metro universe to the point he advertises the extended universe on the official Metro site.

The Witcher writer is an example of how not to be and he is a sad little joke, while Mr. Dmitry Glukhovsky is setting the example of how to do it right.

My hats off to you for knowing this stuff as well and for being a fellow Metro Series fan.

Yeah. Metro series is cool. I played the games and read the novels and read aboutvthe author.

Everyone involved seems to be bunch of cool peepa
---

Nah, he was tricked into the amount he got
---

@pinky0926 posted...

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

This is why you always take the percentage.

I think that's easy to say when you look at a success story like this but how likely is that really

Imagine if someone came to you and said they had brewed the best ever IPA and it would blitz the market and a 2% share would make you a multimillionaire. Or you could take a $150k cash payout for some contract work. Honestly which would you pick, knowing that the IPA market is already oversaturated with deadass microbreweries?

I love this post for so many reasons
---

His books are essentially only popular in Polish and other Slavic countries, right? The games were the popularizing factor internationally in every way and especially in the English-speaking world.
---

ScazarMeltex posted...

Yeah, nevermind that his book series would have remained obscure without the games rather than all the languages its been translated to and all the markets its now sold in.

This.
---

pinky0926 posted...

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

This is why you always take the percentage.

I think that's easy to say when you look at a success story like this but how likely is that really

Imagine if someone came to you and said they had brewed the best ever IPA and it would blitz the market and a 2% share would make you a multimillionaire. Or you could take a $150k cash payout for some contract work. Honestly which would you pick, knowing that the IPA market is already oversaturated with deadass microbreweries?

change the 150k cash payout to 9500, cuz that's what sapkowski got.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/the-witcher-rights-cost

i'd take the chance on the beer. 9500 won't change your life that much.
---

pauIie posted...

pinky0926 posted...

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

This is why you always take the percentage.

I think that's easy to say when you look at a success story like this but how likely is that really

Imagine if someone came to you and said they had brewed the best ever IPA and it would blitz the market and a 2% share would make you a multimillionaire. Or you could take a $150k cash payout for some contract work. Honestly which would you pick, knowing that the IPA market is already oversaturated with deadass microbreweries?

change the 150k cash payout to 9500, cuz that's what sapkowski got.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/the-witcher-rights-cost

i'd take the chance on the beer. 9500 won't change your life that much.

As a (technically) professional brewer I'd take the payout over % on an IPA. IPAs are dime a dozen nowdays and most are shit.
---

i feel you

but change it back to the game. i'd definitely go %age of a game series over 9500 bucks
---

Sapkowski sold the rights to his book series to CD Projekt for an undisclosed lump sum in 1997, and (somewhat ironically) actually turned down a profit-sharing agreement at the time.

The novelist has since revealed he took the cash offer because he didn't believe anyone would actually buy the game -- a decision he's since accepted was rather foolish.

"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," he explained in a Eurogamer interview.

"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."

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and The Witcher game series has collectively sold over 25 million copies worldwide, while CD Projekt is now worth over $2 billion.

Dude can go pound sand and I hope he loses his lawsuit.
---

I've never played/read witcher beyond trying out 2 when it was free from xbl gold but this is some good shit
---

Nike swoosh
---

If this affects Cyberpunk 2077 he better sleep with one eye open
---

pinky0926 posted...

To his credit, he doesn't begrudge CD Projekt its success, saying, "The game is made very well, and they merit of all of the beneficiaries they get from it."

Sounds like he's not quite as bitter as you're putting it TC

Nah. He's pretty bitter about it. He sold off all the rights up front because he had no faith in video games and thinks video games are shit in general. He regrets his decision and despite the fact that the book sales spiked and there's a netflix adaptation that he's benefitting off of without any money going to CDPR at all he still wants more money.

He can go fuck himself.

I hope they never make another Witcher game again just to spite this piece of shit.
---

I thought it was justified until I saw that CDPR tried to give him sharing multiple times. You cant cry foul after this long and attempts to give you money. Especially now so long after The Witcher 3 which sold like gangbusters
---

Sapkowski probably still felt the sting from The Hexer flopping when CDPR approached him and decided it's better to take the cash upfront than royalties. I heard the movie & TV series didn't make much profit, probably less than what CDPR paid him for the rights. I mean honestly, if I know nuts about gaming, I'd not have much faith in The Witcher's (game) success too.

It took CDPR almost a decade to turn The Witcher into what it is today. Seriously, how many people has that kind of hindsight? I would have probably made the same decision if I was at his age when CDPR came knocking.

That being said, it was CDPR's efforts which made The Witcher famous worldwide today and they deserve credit for that. But the deal was done/signed/inked 10 years ago and both parties agreed with an upfront payment. Sapkowski is well within his rights to sue, but I hope him & CDPR can settle things amicably.

PS: He is getting paid in royalties for the netflix series, right?
---

pinky0926 posted...

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

This is why you always take the percentage.

I think that's easy to say when you look at a success story like this but how likely is that really

Imagine if someone came to you and said they had brewed the best ever IPA and it would blitz the market and a 2% share would make you a multimillionaire. Or you could take a $150k cash payout for some contract work. Honestly which would you pick, knowing that the IPA market is already oversaturated with deadass microbreweries?

I dunno, I've just seen too many stories lately where someone took the sum instead of the percentage and we're screwed royally. There are a couple examples in the Netflix series The Toys that Made Us that Ive been watching lately. I believe there are video game franchises and clothing lines that have made the same mistake. (I thought under armor was an example but I'm not finding anything to confirm it. It must be another athletics line I'm forgetting).

Plus from the author's perspective, why even sell your rights if you think the project will fail? We're living in a time where all kinds of books are crossing into television and movies. Why not wait until there is a project you have confidence in? Heck the author himself will now get an Amazon show as a result of the games.
---

Yeah unfortunately the guy has always sounded like a bit of a douche.

https://www.vg247.com/2017/04/19/the-witcher-author-thinks-the-games-have-lost-him-book-sales-metro-2033-author-says-this-is-totally-wrong/

The belief, widely spread by CDPR, that the games made me popular outside of Poland is completely false, Sapkowski told Waypoint of The Witcher series.

I made the games popular. All of my translations in the West including the English one were published before the first game.

This is just factually incorrect? The Witcher released globally on PC in October 2006. The first Witcher book released in English was The Last Wish, which arrived in 2007, and the first novel, Blood of Elves, wasnt published in English until 2008.

The author has said in the past that The Witcher games have lost him as many book sales as it brought in, and asked about this maintained that it would be about equal, yes.

There are more people who have played the games because they read the books, he added. Thats my count, but Im not sure. I never did any studies.

Throughout the interview Sapkowski has little good to say about video games, freely admitting hes only in it for the money, and claiming that games are spoiling his market because all the authors he meets are younger than he is and think he writes adaptations of video games. Or something? Its not entirely clear.

What is clear is that Metro author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks Sapkowski is not only totally wrong but also an arrogant motherfucker, because he says that flat out.

Original waypoint interview seems to be down for me for some reason.
---