Witcher 3 dev on publishers: "They don't understand your game"

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is effectively releasing in February 2015 without a publisher, and while he hasn't slammed agencies outright, CD Projket RED CEO Marcin Iwiński has explained why he fears too many studios are sacrificing their vision when working with publishers.

It follows Iwiński's promise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won't be delayed again.

Speaking with GI.biz, Iwiński was careful to avoid calling out publishers in their entirety, because obviously some handle partnerships better than others.

"There are good publishers and there are bad publishers," he warned, "but only the developer can change their reality. They are the vision holders, they are the passion holders. With a middle man, they tell your story and you lose, what, 50 per cent of that message. If you're doing it through a bigger company you might have two layers of those people.

"I want to demystify one thing, because a lot of people out there - including us, back in the day - are thinking, 'We'll take the publisher, co-publisher, agency' - the magical solution guys. It's bullshit. There's nothing like that, and you'll be very disappointed in nine out of ten cases. we were.

"You have to learn it, and then you can use external support when you know how it works. Because then you can judge what they're doing. You won't be buying their crap, or their lousy work, and you'll be able to make a more fruitful, useful and meaningful cooperation. Don't be like a sheep going out there: 'Do everything for me.' They don't understand your game. You're the passionate one. You're the creator.

"People should consider getting the message out there as part of the development process. You can develop a game and think it's the best in the world, but if that's it? You're going dead wrong."