CD Projekt Red’s final entry into the Witcher series has made them some serious bank.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt had a long road to release. Originally touted as one of the main reasons to grab a new “next-gen” console, the title had a few setbacks during its production. The three-month delay in December of last year disappointed those who had been following the title, looking for a good reason to put their newly bought PS4/Xbox Ones to good use last holiday, but CD Projekt has rewarded players’ patience with a polished and fully realized experience — and they have the sales numbers to prove it.
Riding on the wave of positive reviews and word of mouth, the Witcher 3’s sales have officially vindicated the franchise, and CD Projekt Red, as a developer to be taken serious — as if they weren’t before.
Popular in Europe and abroad, the series never quite stuck the landing here in the US with its prior releases. Though entries prior would always receive glowing reviews, the franchise never got the momentum it needed to penetrate the mainstream market and become a standout.
With the release of new gaming consoles, however, the Witcher 3 was positioned as a great showpiece for the new hardware by Sony and Microsoft, both of which were seeking great original content to showoff the capabilities of their hardware.
For CD Projekt it’s a great win and their biggest title to date. As the developer and publisher of Geralt’s final foray in the Witcher universe, the series is definitely going out with a bang. Now we’ll just have to wait and see what the studio has in store for us with their next project, Cyberpunk 2077.
Below, you can find an open letter to fans from CD Projekt RED’s co-founder, Marcin Iwinski, thanking the community for their support.
Open Letter from CD Projekt RED
Dear Gamers, May 19th was a crucial date for all of us here at CD PROJEKT RED — we released The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, our open world role-playing game that we had been hard at work on for over 3 years. Since day one, you have given us tons of positive feedback and support — the sheer volume of emails we’ve gotten since launch simply congratulating us for our efforts is both epic and heartwarming, and I wish every developer comes to have such a fantastic community. In terms of media reception, we’re really humbled by the scores the game has received all around the world. With an average of 90+ on every platform, Wild Hunt is our dream coming true. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the four million gamers worldwide who bought The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the first two weeks from launch. Four million RPG fans spending their hard-earned money on our game is a sign that we did something right, and you can be sure that we’ll harness all that positive energy and make the upcoming expansions worthy of the grand adventure that you’re telling us Wild Hunt already is! Until then, keep on enjoying Wild Hunt, do not forget to grab your weekly set of free DLCs, and stay tuned for constant updates and enhancement to the game we are continuously working on. Dandelion once said to Geralt that the world is changing, the sun is setting, and vodka’s running out — go, play, and have fun! All the best, Marcin Iwiński Co-founder, CD PROJEKT RED