Open Letter from CDPR

Seems we got an open-letter from CDPR, on facebook. And it comes with great news.

Hey Gamers!

Time does fly! These few months since launch passed faster than you can say potestaquisitor. We’ve been hard at work delivering you new content, fixing what needed to be fixed, and secretly plotting how to rock this boat we call the RPG genre even more. We’ve just concluded our shareholder conference where we announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt family got a bit bigger -- we sold over 6 million copies of the game in six weeks since launch. Worry not, I won’t discuss any financial stuff here. I would, however, like to give you some insight on what that means to us as game creators.

One could think we have six million reasons to be happy and that’s it. We do, but that number is also a big responsibility and I want everyone to know that we, as a studio, realize that. For us, all your high praise, all the positive reviews, are also an obligation -- we’ve made a really good game but there’s still a long road ahead of us. Everyone here in CD PROJEKT RED is really attached to their work and how you, the gamers, perceive it. RED is full of artists, wild dreamers and people crazy about what they do (and sometimes just plain crazy). We lose sleep over that particular colour the sun has when it sets over Velen, and argue over arranging the furniture in a house the majority of gamers will probably never see. We’re not the kind of people who are easily satisfied and we always strive for more. I’d like you to know that.

Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, picture and text - you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there’s no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That’s why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I’d like to say thanks to each and every one of you.

Thanks!

Adam Badowski,
Head of Studio
CD PROJEKT RED

Amazing news that they managed to sell 6 million copies of Witcher 3. They deserve every bit of it. Yay! Now bring on those expansions!

Well here is a question from a village idiot…does that include those, something around, million and a half preorders?
I hope these guys will continue listening to feedback and with the patches, and if they release modkit soon enough, those numbers could even double.

I'm glad to see it worked great but it still saddens me that such awsome games copies number still can't surpass a billion of proud Candy Crush Saga owners.

We're the minority.

Originally Posted by joxer
We're the minority.

Would you have it any other way?

Maybe, dunno.
I have no idea what to talk about with someone who passes their day on CCS and similar stuff. Perhaps would be better if I had more friends that share similar interests with me. Perhaps not. I can't imagine how the would would look other way around. All I know is that current global taste (or perhaps it's just ignorance?) makes me sad.

Good news, now they can finance a good game like Cyberpunk 2077. I like FPS gameplay more for an action game.

Originally Posted by joxer
Maybe, dunno.
I have no idea what to talk about with someone who passes their day on CCS and similar stuff. Perhaps would be better if I had more friends that share similar interests with me. Perhaps not. I can't imagine how the would would look other way around. All I know is that current global taste (or perhaps it's just ignorance?) makes me sad.

First, Joxer you have us to talk too.

Second, friends come and but RPG game will always be there for you in your time of need.

Third, The Global or Sheep have always had bad taste and I don't find much need for them anyways.

Originally Posted by CelticFrost
Third, The Global or Sheep have always had bad taste and I don't find much need for them anyways.

Exactly that's why games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Medal of Honor sell billions. As for me I'm happy for CD Projekt RED, and can't wait to play the expansion.

I hope they sell many more copies. Best RPG in a LONG time and I want them to make many many more in the years to come.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Exactly that's why games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Medal of Honor sell billions.

Add AC, GTA's and recent TES games to that list. I'm not surprised that the mass public is infatuated with them, but how professional critics fawn over them as well.

Hmm, we have chemical engineers, doctors, mechanical engineers, a corporate CEO, and few thousand other advanced degree folks with CCS on their pcs. I'm not sure who would be considered "elite". I'm wondering what we do that is so much more impressive.

Most of us brag on how many hours we "waste" on playing games. Most of the folks above might play for an hour a week. The rest of their time is spent being productive. I'd rather have fun, but I don't pretend that I'm better than everyone else because of the type of entertainment I consume….

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Exactly that's why games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Medal of Honor sell billions. As for me I'm happy for CD Projekt RED, and can't wait to play the expansion.

You don't need to learn the language to play (or understand) those stuff.
Because of that basically a monkey can play them. And monkeys also love to play games.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Hmm, we have chemical engineers, doctors, mechanical engineers, a corporate CEO, and few thousand other advanced degree folks with CCS on their pcs. I'm not sure who would be considered "elite". I'm wondering what we do that is so much more impressive.

Most of us brag on how many hours we "waste" on playing games. Most of the folks above might play for an hour a week. The rest of their time is spent being productive. I'd rather have fun, but I don't pretend that I'm better than everyone else because of the type of entertainment I consume….

This. I agree completely. No need to look down on people who play other games than we do.

pibbur who doesn't play CCS, but who does occasionally dabble in Sudoku or Solitaire. Or Mah Jongg.

Taste is subjective, not good or bad.

That said, the more passionate and invested you are when it comes to your hobby, the more you tend to want from it.

So, we as big fans of gaming will naturally want more depth and nuance to our games.

Doesn't invalidate the masses, but I think it's fair to be unhappy about how the crowd rules.

What I find surprising here is that so few among the Watch can see how heavily influenced Witcher 3 is by the mainstream. Everything from the tour-guide UI to the hand-holding "detective mode" is a direct result of targeting such a huge audience. Not to mention the pushover default difficulty.

I suspect it will only get worse from here, or perhaps better if you're a mainstream gamer.

To me, developers like CDPR and Bethesda both cater to the mainstream - but they're also very passionate and their heart is set on the art more than the profit. That's why Witcher games are so great when it comes to their main objective, which is to tell a story full of grey areas and lots of C&C. It's also why TES/Fallout 3 are so great at delivering a freeform exploration experience. That's what the heart is about - not necessarily to create opaque and punishing gameplay.

That's what sets those games apart from Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty - as those games fail to move beyond "good" or "decent" when it comes to the main attraction (open world and shooter experiences). They're money machines focused on exploiting the mainstream audience, rather than merely catering to them.

Passion with mainstream catering is really the best we can hope for from the publisher model in most cases.