The Witcher 3 is renowned as one of the greatest RPGs of its generation, but its journey to success was not without hurdles. During interviews reflecting on the game’s 10th anniversary, Michał Nowakowski, co-CEO of CD Projekt Red, recounted that while The Witcher 2 was financially successful enough to start the project, the company still had to actively seek partnerships and funding.

Nowakowski shared a pivotal moment when pitching the game: **“A few years back, Skyrim had launched, and Game of Thrones was getting popular on HBO. Every pitch ended up with the words ‘Skyrim meets Game of Thrones’… this resonated with many who saw it.”

Yet, optimism faced skepticism, especially from retailers. A former Walmart executive, recalling the meeting, bluntly expressed, “I like you guys, but it’s just not gonna happen. You guys are not Bethesda.” This statement highlighted the challenges CDPR confronted, as they were operating on a smaller scale compared to industry giants at the time.

Reflecting on this interaction, Nowakowski mentioned, “Although they liked our vision, they did not believe that we could pull off a project of such magnitude.”

Fast forward to today, the Witcher 3 stands as an iconic title in the RPG landscape and continues to be a subject of retrospectives as its 10th anniversary approaches.