Both stars will feature alongside Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia, of course—news which birthed this wonderful header image. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich revealed Freya Allan (of Into The Badlands fame) as Ciri, and Anya Chalotra (of Wanderlust notoriety) as Yennefer.
We know Queen Calanthe will be played by Jodhi May (The Last of the Mohicans), whereas "fledgling sorceress" Fringilla will be played by Mimi Ndiweni (The Legend of Tarzan; Mr Selfridge).
From top left to bottom right there, the cast appears as follows: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Jodhi May, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Millie Brady, Adam Levy, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, and MyAnna Buring.
It's late into Cyberpunk 2077's demo when Dum-Dum extends a claw toward V, offering a hit from a skull-adorned inhaler. Perhaps sensing the veiled hostility behind the supposed peace pipe being thrust under her nose, she obliges. Arachnid eye implants shine through a red haze. Dum-Dum takes his own hit, and flared nerves settle. Between all the talk of cred chips and bots, the tension that fuels this choice stems from a ritual as old as time. Breaking bread. Chinking cups. Passing the proverbial Dutchie to the left.
Adult games, as a medium, are often enamoured with their own portrayal of taboo subjects, but there's a streak of silently judgemental conservatism dulling the libertine sheen. By confining their use to grim settings, these stories condemn altered states of consciousness as the territory of society's dregs. At the same time, they're perfectly happy to hijack their aesthetics when it suits. Unexamined praise can be as useless as uninformed panic, of course, but let's be clear here: games are, for the most part, shit at doing drugs properly. Here's a brief history of drug use in games.
CD Projekt has responded to a demand for payment by The Witcher’s original creator, Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
Eurogamer reported that CD Projekt received the demand yesterday, in which lawyers acting on Sapkowski’s behalf filed a demand of payment of PLN 60m, (£12.4m/$16.1m) in additional royalties.
Sapkowski has previously expressed his regret that he rejected CD Projekt’s offer of a percentage of their overall profits when he sold the rights to a videogame adaptation of his work. In an interview with Eurogamer’s Robert Purchase, he explained that he demanded an up-front payment in full. “I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn't believe in their success,” Sapkowski lamented. “But who could foresee their success? I couldn't."
CD Projekt posted a PDF copy of Sapkowski’s original demand online. Sapkowski’s plenipotentiaries state that the existing royalty agreements between Sapkowski and CD Projekt “cannot (even assuming that they contain the relevant provisions) effectively indemnify you against future claims by the Author.”
The document then points to Article 44 of the Act on Copyright and Related Rights, going on to state “it may be assumed that standard royalty rates associated with use of a work, particularly in adaptations, are approximately 5-15% of the profits generated.” The demand’s conclusion is that Sapkowski should be compensated with “at least” 6% of profits obtained by CD Projekt.
In addition, the document claims that, “Careful reading of your contracts concluded with the Author might lead one to conclude that, if the company did effectively acquire any copyright at all, it concerned only the first in a series of games, and therefore distribution of all other games, including their expansions, add-ons etc., is, simply speaking, unlawful,” although the document then goes on to state “Naturally, we do not intend to engage in a debate with you on this point.”
CDProjekt posted its response above the receipt, stating. “In the Company’s opinion the demands expressed in the notice are groundless with regard to their merit as well as the stipulated amount. The Company had legitimately and legally acquired copyright to Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski’s work, i.a. insofar as is required for its use in games developed by the Company. All liabilities payable by the Company in association therewith have been properly discharged”.
It appears that CD Projekt is confident in its position, given that it has responded immediately and rejected the demand outright, while also making both its own position and that of Sapkowski’s transparent for everyone to see. Nonetheless, it’s a strange twist. CD Projekt still intends to reach an "amicable resolution" on the matter. "However, any such resolution must be respectful of previously expressed intents of both parties, as well as existing contracts."
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Brendan Caldwell)
The author of The Witcher novels has delivered a legal demand for payment to game developers CD Projekt Red, amounting to 60 million Polish Zloty (approximately 12.4 million or $16 million). Andrzej Sapkowski is the author of the Wied min series of fantasy books, later translated as The Witcher in English. He made a deal with CD Projekt in the early 2000s that would allow them to turn Geralt into a bunch of polygons. But now, in a letter sent to the developers, his lawyers are arguing that he deserves more. As expected, there’s a lot of legal patter. But the gist of it is that Sapkowski feels like he hasn t seen a fair amount of the profits that have come from the world he created.
UPDATE 15TH NOVEMBER: There was a minor update to this story during a call discussing CD Projekt's Q3 2018 earnings. Joint-CEO Adam Kiciński referred to the issue as "an open one", intimating no decision either way had been made.
"Until we have reached a significant milestone we intend to withhold comments," Kiciński told investors. "The issue is an open one, and when we feel we have information which can be shared with the world - in terms of specific outcomes - you will hear from us. For now, we will refrain from comments."
Almost 10 years ago to the day, CD Projekt launched the online digital game store Good Old Games. The operation and scope was small - a handful of people salvaging iconic old PC games for modern operating systems - but the prices, customer service and DRM-free message were right, and slowly the service grew. And grew, and grew. And today things are different.
Today GOG employs more than 160 people and no longer restricts itself to good old games, so much so that the full meaning has been forgotten and replaced by the snappier acronym GOG. Today you find the newest and biggest independent games there, such as Pathfinder: Kingdom and A Bard's Tale 4, and they are kept up to date by the Steam-like client GOG Galaxy. And today CD Projekt is a household gaming name.
The Witcher games, developed under the same roof, have propelled GOG to new heights. They have been the first big new games on GOG and it has been the best place to find discounts for them. But never has CD Projekt flexed the family advantage as much as it will when selling Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales exclusively on GOG next month. Thronebreaker, based on the card game Gwent, may not be The Witcher 4, but it's a 30-hour, $30 standalone game made by people responsible for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt nonetheless. It's a big deal, and for GOG it could be massive.
It's going to be difficult to make anyone look like the Geralt we know from the games, what with his superhuman hairline and pristine tub soaking form, but he doesn't have to look identical, and surely won't—taking from the books means there's freedom to imagine a new face for The Witcher. Opinions vary on how he should be played, as well. Stoic? Cold? Shiny and wet?
All that in mind, who would you choose to portray Geralt in a live action show? We've dropped our ideas below, and let us know your favored thespians in the comments. (Unfortunately, Andy Kelly has already chosen the one and only correct answer, but the rest of us at least get to participate.)
Zach McGowan
As probably the only member of our team who's watched every episode of the underrated pirate drama Black Sails, I have to go to bat for Zach McGowan, who played the show's nasty captain Charles Vane. He's ripped, he has the beard and long hair, and speaks in a growly whisper that would suit Geralt well. And from what I saw on Black Sails, he's a good actor; he probably wouldn't make for an incredible Geralt, but I think he'd make for a competent one, able to smirk and drop deadpan jokes in between all the monster slaying. McGowan was actually lobbying for the role, so I wonder if he ended up getting an audition for the part. If so, it couldn't have involved pull-ups, cause the dude would've crushed it. —Wes Fenlon
That guy from Game of Thrones
How about that guy, you know, that guy, whose name I'll try to remember without looking it up first because I'll get it amusingly wrong. Nicholas Walder-Cousteau. Cousteau-Walder Frey. Walter Nicholas-Cousteau? Something with a Nicholas and a Cousteau and a Walder or Walter.
I was a little close. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. From Game of Thrones and presumably other things. He seems good, he's charismatic, he can swing a sword, he can do the kinda grizzled thing but also cleans up nice, he has an accent that can probably pass as something from a fantasy world. What else does Geralt do besides sit in a tub? Cast spells? He can cast spells, probably. Sorry, I haven't played The Witcher games. I vote for Cousteau Walder-Nicholas. —Chris Livingston
Karl Urban
He's in the right age bracket, he's good at violence, and he's a chameleon, the kind of guy who basically just disappears into a role. Give him the scars, the stubble (or beard, as it may be), the hair, and the eyes, and all we'd see is Geralt. You probably wouldn't even need to dub in Doug Cockle's voice—just get Karl to harden his Dredd voice a little and you're all set. —Andy Chalk
Toby Stephens
Actually, Wes, I also watched every episode of the underrated pirate drama Black Sails. But I want to nominate a different member of its cast: Toby Stephens, who played Captain Flint, the second-most gravelly voiced pirate on the show. He does a good "everything has gone wrong but I'm not giving up" stare that would be perfect for Geralt.
So either him or Cate Blanchett, because since I saw her play a better Bob Dylan than any of the dudes in I'm Not There, I'm convinced she can do anything. —Jody Macgregor
Come on, he's perfect. He has the wiry, muscular frame, the piercing eyes, the severe face. Just imagine him in a suit of Kaer Morhen armour and a mane of flowing grey hair. Mads can play stoic and intense brilliantly, ideal for the early episodes, but has the range to develop Geralt into a more interesting, nuanced character as the season goes on. He also has a peculiar, slightly otherworldly way about him, and I think that would be perfect for Geralt—the weird, pale outsider that villagers whisper cruelly about as he rides through town. Cavill is too handsome, man. I think Geralt's gotta be a little odd. A bit unsettling. —Andy Kelly
The search for the star of the Netflix Witcher series is over but I can't work out if it's a bird or a plane or... That's right, it's cleft-chinned British actor Henry Cavill, who launched to fame portraying Superman recently, playing the iconic witcher Geralt.
Show boss Lauren Hissrich said Cavill had been in the first meeting for the Witcher Netflix series, before scripts, before writers. "That was four months ago," she wrote, "and I've never forgotten the passion he brought. He IS Geralt. He always has been. I'm so thrilled to welcome HENRY CAVILL to the #Witcher family."
Cavill responded in good form on Facebook, quipping his new mailing address was Geralt at Kaer Morhen, the famed home of the wolf school of witchers (Geralt and pals).
GOG's Back to School Sale slashes prices on over 400 games. Live now through September 10, expect discounts on loads of games—and a number of extra savings on daily Flash Deals.
With so much on offer, I reckon this sale will be more about searching for your own favourites and reporting back in the comments down south. A quick gander at the GOG website's 'on sale' tab alone, though, does uncover some gems. With 60 percent off The Witcher 3's Game of the Year Edition, for example, is going for $18.03; while the XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete Pack costs $6.45 with 80 percent off.
Again, have a leaf through GOG's Back to School Sale at your leisure and please share your favourites with other readers below. The sale runs from now through September 10, at 1pm PST / 9pm BST.
If you use GOG's Connect service, the following games have entered its DRM-free fold: Mirror's Edge, Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business, MDK, Toonstruck, Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition, Tempest, For The Glory, and King of Dragon Pass.
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