Less than one month ago, The Witcher released on Netflix. Since that time, the series has become a huge hit for the streaming service, but it has also resulted in increased demand for Witcher-related products. At the tail end of last year, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt set a new record for the most Steam players playing the game at the same time at 93,835. While that number would be impressive for any game, it’s all the more notable considering the game is nearly five years old! CD Projekt Red’s title isn’t the only one seeing increased demand, however. Orbit Books has announced that they are printing half a million books to meet increased demand for writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s original works!
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#Witcher fans, we have heard you loud and clear! We’re printing *more than half a million books* to meet demand for Andrzej Sapkowski’s New York Times-bestselling series!
Thank you for helping us make #TheWitcher a publishing phenomenon!https://t.co/GtBtEAOkzM
โ Orbit Books (@orbitbooks) January 14, 2020
It truly is a testament to Netflix’s series that fans are looking for ways to extend the experience. One of the biggest problems with the streaming era is that fans tend to binge things so quickly that they don’t have time to really digest and enjoy them. However, the increased interest in more Witcher content clearly shows that players don’t want the experience to end so quickly.
Of course, fans are going to have to find alternative options if they want to enjoy more adventures of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer, in the meantime. While a second season of the show was confirmed before the first season even aired, shooting has not started for the new season just yet, so it will likely be some time, between.
The Witcher series is comprised of eight books in total. The first book, The Last Wish, is actually a series of short stories that introduce Geralt and the world of the books. The Last Wish has formed the basis of the Netflix series thus far. Season two will continue adapting stories from The Last Wish, but it will be interesting to see how loose, or how closely, showrunner Lauren Hissrich plans on following them in the future. Fans can find out for themselves by picking up a copy from Orbit Books before the new season kicks off.
Have you read the books that inspired The Witcher? What did you think of the first season of the Netflix series? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!