The Witcher author Andrezj Sapkowski says he has an "excellent" deal with The Witcher 4 developer CD Projekt, but the RPG devs don't tend to ask him for advice much anymore.
Speaking at a book event for his new novel, attended by GamesRadar+, Witcher prequel Crossroads of Ravens, Sapkowski was asked if he'd assisted CD Projekt Red with any aspect of development on The Witcher 4. In response, he said that he hadn't contributed to the new game - which is perhaps why he recently hit out at a facet of the RPG series he said was "narratively incorrect."
While Sapkowski says he's not contributing to the new game, he does seem to be doing well out of The Witcher's continuing success. "The contracts between me and the game people are excellent right now," he said. "Let's hope it stays that way." It's not always been that way, however. In 2019, CD Projekt Red settled a lawsuit with Sapkowski - Polish copyright law allows the rights holder to seek increased payment if the license makes far more money than expected. Given the success of The Witcher 3 and the relatively paltry sum the author initially asked from CDPR, Sapkowski was seeking $16 million in royalties.
Sapkowski says that he used to have a slightly closer working relationship with CD Projekt Red. On earlier games in the series, he says they occasionally asked him for advice and additional information about his world. Now, however, he says that "it's so rare" for CDPR to ask him for details.
Perhaps that's the result of the studio's increased confidence in a series it's now made several games around over the course of many years, or the fact that much of those games is CDPR's own creation - given the ending of his book series, Sapkowski said it would be "impossible" to write a sequel story, but the games are certainly set after the events of the final book.
Sapkowski hasn't contributed directly to The Witcher 4, but ideas from Crossroads of Ravens will make their way into the RPG - just like The Witcher 3 did with Season of Storms.
