CD Projekt reaches agreement with series author, gains new rights

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.