The debut of the Game of Thrones series was instrumental for The Witcher 3, as it popularized the dark fantasy genre across the world.
The importance of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is reflected in its impressive numbers: more than 60 million copies solda milestone within the reach of few RPGs.
It is the installment that elevated the CD Projekt saga, in addition to influence countless games and raise the bar for the next editionThe Witcher IV.
The success is mainly due to the talent of its creators, but also there was an external factor in your favor: the premiere of the Game of Thrones series.
Game of Thrones gave wings to The Witcher 3
Adam Badowski, CEO of Project CDexplained on PCGamer that Game of Thrones was definitive when it came to promoting The Witcher 3.
“The Witcher 3 was something new, but we were very worried”Badowski confesses. The game had a development that was as expensive as it was complex.; Furthermore, it was the only project in the studio’s portfolio.
“And not only that: the game was a dark fantasy. At that time, it was not a very popular genre; In fact, we were afraid that people wouldn’t understand the concept.”.
Despite the success of The Witcher 2, The third installment delved into this type of genre. Furthermore, the benchmark at the time was Skyrim, a game with a less dark tone.
“Skyrim and other famous RPGs were high fantasy”details the CEO. “I mean, everyone played World of Warcraft, and it was the genre they knew.”
But everything changed with the premiere of Game of Thrones. The series found a global audience, which opened eyes to a genre that, at that time, was not the majority.
Millions of people have immersed themselves in George RR Martin’s saga, full of betrayals, disastrous fates and dark epics. It was the best possible open mind for The Witcher 3.
“Suddenly people realized they loved dark fantasy. “It was a great moment for us, as it opened up the potential of the game,” adds Badowski.
The rest, as they say, is history. The Witcher 3 became one of the best games in historywith versions for PS4, Xbox One and PC, followed by those for Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
The fame of The Witcher also boosted book sales and closed the circle: Geralt of Rivia had his own television series on Netflix.
Although The Witcher series is not on the same level as Game of Thrones, the saga of Geralt and Ciri owes her a debt of gratitudethrough which dark fantasy became a massive genre.
Get to know how we work in HobbyConsoles.
About The Author
