The Witcher franchise originated from a Polish book series written by Andrzej Sapkowski. The series was first adapted into a video game in 1996, but it was never completed. In 2002, CD Projekt RED began developing a new game based on the book series, which was released in 2007. The game received moderate success, and the company went on to develop two more games in the series, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015). The games are known for their Easter eggs, references to other works, and detailed storyline. The series has gained a huge fanbase worldwide, especially in Poland, and has become a cultural phenomenon. The games are set in a vast universe with a rich history, where humans and non-humans coexist, and witchers, mutated humans with supernatural abilities, hunt monsters. The main character, Geralt of Rivia, is a witcher who is on a quest to find his adopted daughter, Ciri, who possesses the ability to travel between dimensions. The series has become a critical and commercial success, and its popularity has led to the development of a movie and TV show.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Witcher originated as a Polish book series written by fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
2. The books were later adapted into a video game trilogy by CD Projekt RED.
3. The Witcher video game was first attempted in 1996 by Metropolis, a small Polish video game developer.
4. Metropolis coined the English title "The Witcher" for the game.
5. CD Projekt RED started developing their own Witcher game in the early 2000s.
6. The first Witcher game was released in 2007 after 5 years of development.
7. The game was not an immediate success, but it was not a failure either.
8. CD Projekt RED began developing The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings immediately after the release of the first game.
9. The Witcher 2 was released in 2011 and became a critical and commercial success.
10. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in 2015 and became the most successful game in the series.
11. A movie adaptation of The Witcher is in the works, based on the novels, and was released in 2017.
12. A Polish movie adaptation of The Witcher was released in 2001 with the international title "The Hexer".
13. A Polish TV show adaptation of The Witcher was released in 2002, but it received poor reviews.
14. The Witcher games are filled with Easter eggs and references to other games and books.
15. The games allow players to import completed save files from previous installments.
16. The Witcher 3 was originally intended to include a feature that allowed Geralt to fight monsters on ice while ice skating.
17. The game's universe is based on European and Slavic mythology.
18. The games take place in two regions: the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire.
19. The Continent, where the games take place, was inhabited by the Elder Races, including elves, dwarves, and gnomes.
20. The Conjunction of the Spheres, a cataclysmic event, caused parallel universes to collide and brought unnatural creatures to The Continent.
21. Humans first appeared on The Continent during The First Landing.
22. Witchers are humans who have undergone experimentation, training, and conditioning to become experts at hunting and killing monsters.
23. Witchers have supernatural abilities, including speed, strength, endurance, and reflexes.
24. Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist, is a legendary witcher.
25. Geralt's love interest is Yennefer of Vengerberg, a powerful sorceress.
26. Geralt and Yennefer adopt and train a girl named Cirilla, who has the ability to travel between dimensions.