"Absolute idiocy" killed The Witcher game that never was, OG dev says, but he's happy CD Projekt Red landed the series in the end: "I love what they've done"

Before CD Projekt Red got its hands on The Witcher license for its beloved series of games, the books were being adapted by fellow Polish developer Metropolis Software. However, the studio's founder – who coined 'The Witcher' name for series author Andrzej Sapkowski – is glad he didn't challenge CD Projekt when it started making its own game.

Speaking to GAMINGbible, Metropolis co-founder Adrian Chmielarz explains that "I knew Andrzej Sapkowski from the sort of sci-fi and fantasy fandom conventions," adding: "I just called him one day and said, 'look, I would love to make a game based on your short stories.'"

Chimielarz continues: "If anybody knows anything about Mr. Sapkowski, then they know that he doesn't really care about what happens to his characters outside of his own universe. So he was like, 'oh, fine, you want to do what, a game? That's OK. Show me the money and it's yours.'"

However, Metropolis Software never released The Witcher, and as Chimielarz puts it, it was down to "absolute idiocy." "It was a typical mistake that smaller studios make when they are successful, where instead of just maybe growing large enough to bake two games, we started making four," he adds, "And then we started running out of money."

He adds that publisher TopWare Interactive effectively made the call to put The Witcher on the backburner due to the franchise's lack of fame outside of Poland. Chimielarz explains: "They said, 'no, no, no, you have a real-time strategy game in the making. This sells in Germany, so we're good with that. You have a point-and-click adventure, which also sells in Germany. So we're keeping that.'" And thus, The Witcher died "with a whimper without really being officially canceled."

Then, in 2002, CD Projekt Red (who would later go on to acquire Metropolis Software) signed a deal with Sapkowski to make a game based on the franchise, and while Chimielarz did think that his deal was still valid and exclusive, he "didn't care." He adds, "I knew I wouldn't be able to finish The Witcher, so I said, 'OK, never mind. I hope they make a great game.'"

And he's glad that he didn't care, as Chimielarz says: "I'm super happy that they did, because I love these worlds. I love what they've done. They've done a much better game." Since it's better than "what we would have done with the title," the dev concludes that "it all worked out in the end."

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