The Polish video game company CD Projekt Red developed and published the legendary The Witcher 3 on a self-funded budget of $81 million.

The action RPG The Witcher 3 is often regarded as one of the best games in the genre. With a development budget of $81 million, the game became one of the best AAA games in the industry and won several awards. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels of the same name, the game followed the adventures of the witcher Geralt of Rivia as he searched for his daughter.

The game was developed by the Polish video game company CD Projekt Red and reportedly used the REDengine 3 to allow it to create a complex open-world game. The company apparently self-funded the game with an $81 million budget including marketing and sold over 6 million copies in its first six weeks of release.

CD Projekt Red self-funded the game The Witcher 3

A still from The Witcher 3 | Credits: CD Projekt Red

The open-world RPG The Witcher 3 was released back in 2015 and has been appreciated for its ambition and design. The game follows Geralt of Rivia, based on the books by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski and popularized by the games as well as the Netflix series The Witcher, which starred Henry Cavill until recently.

The game was developed by the Polish company CD Projekt Red, which began as a subsidiary of the main company CD Projekt. The company began with the adaptation of Sapkowksi’s novels and published the first “The Witcher” in 2007. According to the founder Marcin Iwiński, their first demo was terrible (via Eurogamer).

After the success of the game and the sequel The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the threequel The Witcher 3 was released after several delays in 2015. The game was widely appreciated among fans and was a huge hit. The game was reportedly made at a budget of $81 million, with about half of it spent only on marketing (via Wholesgame).

The gaming company reportedly self-funded the game and worked with 250 in-house developers and over 1500 crew members across the world.

The Witcher 3 is still cheaper than other AAA games at the time

A still from The Witcher 3 | Credits: CD Projekt Red

While an $81 million budget with only half being used to develop the project and the other half for marketing, The Witcher 3’s budget is a huge achievement for the Polish company CD Projekt Red. Having self-funded the game with an in-house team being credited for their passionate and efficient work, the open-world game is still on the cheaper side.

At the time, the most expensive game was Destiny with a production cost of $500 million. Others like Grand Theft Auto V, which clocked in $265 million, the shooter game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at $250 million, and Star Wars: The Old Republic at $155 million were some of the most expensive games before The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt Red founder Marcin Iwinski credited his team for the efficiency with which the game was made. He said (via Forbes),

It all comes down to some super-talented people working in Warsaw. I don’t have any other answer for it! I was thinking about how Ubisoft does it. They have eight thousand people and not so many titles. We have two hundred twenty people working on this game and that’s massive by our standards. They’re super hard working, super organized. And that’s it.

The game’s expansion was also reportedly funded by the EU Grants Helps Funds Games grant, with the grant reportedly providing £110,000 for the Blood & Wine expansion (via Wholesgame).

The Witcher 3 sold six million copies within six weeks

Geralt in A still from The Witcher 3 | Credits: CD Projekt Red

The Witcher 3 had a profitable release as it reportedly earned $63 million within six weeks of release. The founders of CD Projekt at the time appreciated the dedication of the team for getting the details in the game right and credited the success of The Witcher 3 to everyone’s artistry. The game reportedly sold six million copies within six weeks of release.

Studio head of CD Projekt Red Adam Badowski reportedly said in a statement (via PC Gamer),

Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, pictures, and text – you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there’s no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That’s why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I’d like to say thanks to each and every one of you.

CEO Kasinski said that the game was a good investment on the studio’s part due to the high number of copies sold within the first few weeks of release. Compared to other big-budget AAA games of that period, The Witcher 3 received better figures and was more profitable. The Witcher 4 is currently in development.