The Witcher creator says the series was never directly based on Slavic mythology

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Andrezj Sapkowski also says plot will always beat sticking doggedly to a setting

The Witcher 3
(Image credit: CDPR)

The Witcher's creator has disputed the view that the books are inspired by Slavic mythology.

Last week, The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski confirmed he was working on a new novel in the famed fantasy series, ending a decade-long drought for Witcher fans. Now, some new information has been translated from that same interview where Sapkowski confirmed the new book.

According to a Reddit translation of the interview, Sapkowski hotly disputes that the world of The Witcher is inspired by Slavic mythology. Sapkowski apparently states that the story of The Witcher always stood above its adherence to its setting, and that the Nilfgaardian Empire also wasn't directly inspired by the Roman Empire.

It's admittedly easy to take one look at the world of The Witcher, especially given CD Projekt's Witcher games, and think that they draw heavily from Slavic mythology. The games especially are very much grounded in a typically-Medieval Europe setting, and so one could naturally assume this could include Slavic inspirations.

Sapkowski also revealed he deliberately shot down the idea of an official map of The Continent, the world in which The Witcher takes place, and it was a Czech translator that created the map commonly used by fans today. It's not really clear why Sapkowski didn't like the idea of an official map, but it's a move that's certainly helped shroud The Continent in a bit of mystery over the years. 

The Witcher 4 is still in the works at CD Projekt, but we know as much about the new game as we do about Sapkowski's new novel (absolutely nothing).

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.