Witcher author demands $16 million from CD Projekt

The author of The Witcher book series is demanding 60 million Polish Zloty (roughly $16 million USD) in royalties from game developer CD Projekt. A statement posted by CD Projekt overnight shows that Andrezj Sapkowski, who published eight Witcher novels between 1992 and 2013, “expects payment of additional royalties between himself” and the developer of the acclaimed Witcher trilogy. CD Projekt says that on October 1, it “received an official demand for payment filed by plenipotentiaries of Mr Andrezj Sapkowski.” The author expects royalties in addition to the deal he made to sell the rights to his novel series to the developer in the early 2000s. An English translation of a letter from Sapkowski’s lawyers claims that “the compensation remitted to the author is too low given the benefits obtained in association with the use of that author’s work.” Assuming a typical royalty rate of “approximately 5-15% of the profits generated”, Sapkowski’s lawyers are asking for 6% “of the profits obtained” from CDPR’s use of The Witcher. Based on a report from CDPR, Sapkowski’s lawyers estimate these profits are at least one billion Polish Zlotys, thus arriving at that 60,000,000 Zloty figure.

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