Piracy hasn't prohibited the series from being a success.
CD Projekt RED sent out a press release announcing that The Witcher franchise has sold over 1.5 million units in 2011. 1.1 million copies of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings were sold, while 400,000 copies of the original game make up the remainder.
"I have to admit, though, that the sales results for The Witcher, five years on from the game's premiere, are remarkable. If anything, they prove that the content we put into our games ages well," said Adam Badowski, head of the CD Projekt RED studio.
One surprising fact is that digital sales only accounted for 24% of the sequel's sales. Digital distribution sales were 270,000 with 40,000 being from GOG.com, due to the DRM-free version they offered. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition will be released on Xbox 360 on April 17, 2012.
Press Release
CD Projekt RED Sells 1.5 Million Copies of Witcher Franchise Games in 2011
Sales of the PC version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings totaled more than 1.1 million copies in the first seven months following the game's release. Copies downloaded via digital distribution channels accounted for approximately 24 percent of that total. The Witcher, which was the first game in the franchise and has been available since 2007, also proved incredibly popular among gamers in 2011 and was purchased by more than 400 thousand people during the year.
"We were all incredibly surprised by the number of copies sold. The Witcher 2 has garnered over 60 industry awards, and gamers seem to love it. I have to admit, though, that the sales results for The Witcher, 5 years on from the game's premier, are remarkable. If anything, they prove that the content we put into our games ages well. I think that The Witcher will continue to generate buzz in the coming years," said Adam Badowski, head of the CD Projekt RED studio.
CD Projekt RED just released its sales figures for last year. All told, in 2011 sales of games in The Witcher franchise exceeded 1.5 million copies. The award-winning RPG The Witcher 2 netted total sales of 1,110,055 copies. Of that number, 270 thousand came via digital distribution channels, with 40 thousand of those sold by CD Projekt RED's subsidiary GOG.com. Furthermore, CD Projekt RED revealed that sales of The Witcher, the first game in the franchise, came to 401 543 copies.
CD Projekt RED plans to release The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition for Xbox 360 and PC on the 17th of April this year.
The new edition will include about 4 hours of additional content set in new locations and featuring new characters. This version of the game will also incorporate a significant number of new animations and cinematics. One of these is a CG intro directed by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Tomasz Bagi?ski. Over a million people viewed the intro in the first week after its online premiere.
To pre-order the Enhanced Edition of The Witcher 2, go to www.buy.thewitcher.com.
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