A sudden scandal. CD PROJEKT company announced the receipt of a letter from representatives of Andrzej Sapkowski. According to the document, the writer demands additional royalties from the company for the rights to the Witcher series of games.
The key claim sounds like this: the payments made were too small compared to the benefits that the company received from using the author’s works. They say that usually the royalty, especially when it comes to adaptations, is about 5-15%. In monetary terms, this is significantly more than the amounts that were paid to Sapkovsky within the framework of previously concluded contracts.
The writer’s lawyers believe that he should be paid at least 6% of the profit received. Based on the results of Witcher 3, they calculated that the company owes the author of books about the adventures of Geralt of Rivia the sum of $ 16 million.
A little further on, they write that “if the company acquired any rights, they concerned only the first game in the series, which means that the distribution of all other games, including extensions and addons, is illegal.”
Sapkovsky’s representatives also noted in the demand that they are ready to resolve the issue quietly, because they understand that attracting public attention to it can negatively affect the reputation and value of the company’s shares, which will attract more losses than paying the specified amount.
If CD PROJEKT does not respond to this letter by October 15, and the meeting between the parties does not take place until October 19, the writer’s lawyers threaten legal proceedings.
The response of the gaming company to the letter was its publication.
The Board of CD PROJEKT also stated that it considers the claims groundless, since the company acquired the rights legally, and fulfilled all obligations to Sapkovsky.
At the same time, the company is “ready to go far to resolve the dispute in a pre-trial manner.” According to the appeal of the board of CD PROJEKT, the company strives to maintain good relations with the authors whose works it is inspired by. Exactly how much the company is ready to pay and whether it is going to do it at all is not specified.
The conflict unfolds against the background of the imminent release of a new game in the Witcher universe — “Blood Feud: The Witcher. Stories”, which is due to appear on digital shelves on October 23.
Also on the topic:
- The studio-creator of “The Witcher” has risen in price to $2 billion in a yearCD Projekt has launched a mobile game development studio
- Source: CD PROJEKT