It’s hard to believe now that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — one of the most influential games ever made — was once met with doubt. As Adam Badowski of CD Projekt recounted in an interview, few trusted its success in the early days.
At the project’s first concept presentations, investors and publishers were unconvinced that a cinematic, story-driven narrative could be reconciled with an open-world design.
Some truly doubted that a rich, film-like narrative could be integrated into an open-world framework.
Partners expected innovations in gameplay, but they saw only the usual elements — combat, progression, and magic — which to them did not seem revolutionary.
CD Projekt’s team, however, believed the game’s power rested in its storytelling and emotional resonance rather than its combat system. Instead of dissecting the idea into parts, Badowski sought to inspire and ignite curiosity.
When, after its release, Wild Hunt began collecting dozens of 9s and 10s out of 10, the studio was swept up in elation.
That was when we became a real team.
Today there’s no longer any doubt: telling Geralt’s story was one of the best decisions in the history of the industry.
Source: iXBT.games