From what I understand CDPR purchased the licensing for the Witcher IP a long time ago. At the time the Witcher was not popular outside of Poland so they didn’t have to pay very much. Since then they made the series really popular and the English translation brought it to a much wider market. So he felt like he wasn’t fairly compensated for his IP.
I think they’ve reached new agreements since then but it wasn’t easy for either party to reach agreement.
He was given the option of either a lump sum or a percentage of game sales. He thought video games were a passing fad and took the lump sum. Then he got pissed because the games were super successful.
Him being crochety about video games is why he didn’t negotiate for royalties. And after realizing his mistake… He’s still crochety about video games :/
He has been “the author” in polish fiction for decades and he didn’t handle it well. I met him about 20 years ago and he’s already been a douche back then.
Everything I’ve read about the author does not paint him in a positive light. He seems crochety
From what I understand CDPR purchased the licensing for the Witcher IP a long time ago. At the time the Witcher was not popular outside of Poland so they didn’t have to pay very much. Since then they made the series really popular and the English translation brought it to a much wider market. So he felt like he wasn’t fairly compensated for his IP.
I think they’ve reached new agreements since then but it wasn’t easy for either party to reach agreement.
He was given the option of either a lump sum or a percentage of game sales. He thought video games were a passing fad and took the lump sum. Then he got pissed because the games were super successful.
In like 2005 haha when it was obvious video games were certainly not just a passing fad.
Him being crochety about video games is why he didn’t negotiate for royalties. And after realizing his mistake… He’s still crochety about video games :/
He has been “the author” in polish fiction for decades and he didn’t handle it well. I met him about 20 years ago and he’s already been a douche back then.