Before The Witcher 3 release, CD Projekt Red feared one rival above all others. „They're gonna just roll over us”

When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in 2015, the game turned out to be a huge success—it's worth mentioning that it has sold over 60 million copies to date. However, before it came out, CD Projekt Red was worried that their game might get overshadowed by another big title, Batman: Arkham Knight.

CD Projekt feared Batman

The concerns didn't just come out of nowhere – the Arkham series is popular among players, and after the somewhat weaker Origins, they were eagerly waiting for the fourth installment. Speaking with PC Gamer, CD Projekt's joint CEO, Michal Nowakowski, outlined what the situation was like in 2015.

Nowakowski explained that sellers have different time slots for advertising specific games, like giving them better shelf space in stores. Such a distinction can significantly boost sales, or at least it could when physical releases dominated the industry.

CD Projekt Red partnered with Warner Bros., which was supposed to handle the distribution of The Witcher 3 in the United States. It wasn't until later that the creators found out Arkham Knight was going to be released at the same time as their game. Moreover, Warner Bros. was not only the distributor of the new Batman game but also its publisher. It seemed obvious that the company would do everything possible to promote its own title.

In the end, CD Projekt Red got lucky because the release of Arkham Knight was pushed back from May to June 23rd. This allowed The Witcher 3 to launch without worrying about too strong competition.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

May 19, 2015

Rate It!

• Overview
• Guide
• Maps
• Review

• CD Projekt RED
• Polish games
• Batman: Arkham (series)
• The Witcher (franchise)
• interviews