Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales Falls Short of Initial Sales Expectations

[Raevenlord]

The latest game set in the The Witcher universe has been met with slower initial sales than CD Projekt Red expected. According to the company's CEO Adam Kicinski, who spoke in the last earnings call, the slower uptake was the reason for the game's offering on Steam (it was initially launched as a GOG exclusive, but quickly made its way to the much more ubiquitous Steam store.)

As it is the latest game set in The Witcher universe, community interest and excitement surrounding the title increased the sales forecast, but perhaps the "slightly" different take on a Witcher game has turned some buyers' excitement to other pastures. Thronebreaker: the Witcher Tales is a single-player, story-driven adventure with card mechanics, a far cry from the third-person goodness of the now legendary The Witcher 3. Of course, the game now has a long time to rake in funds through continued sales, and it's unlikely the developer will leave The Witcher world behind even if it flops - which it definitely won't, at least not in the long run.





Adam Kicinski had this to say regarding sales and the decision to sell the game on the Steam store so early after release:

"The game appealed to the community, which drove up our expectations regarding sales. Unfortunately, as yet, these expectations have not been fulfilled. Still, we remain optimistic … We expect to continue to sell Thronebreaker for many years to come, even though the initial period may not have lived up to our initial expectations. The game appeared on GOG first for fairly straightforward reasons. GOG is our priority platform and we wanted to release the game there first to gamers who support us there. However, the reach of GOG is incomparably smaller than that of Steam. We know that there's a large Witcher fan community on Steam and that's why we also released the game there."

Adam Kicinski, CD Projekt Red CEO

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Vayra86]

CDPR would do itself a favor by cherishing The Witcher franchise like Blizzard does with Warcraft and Starcraft. Keep it true to concept, and keep it scarce. Not milking it can actually be a good idea instead of Witcher-sauce across everything.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Nope.
If the price tag for that game is $2 maybe...
No offense but it looks like just about every card game since the 1990's with a Witcher title.

 

[Deleted member 177333]

I don't think they're milking this or anything - I mean it's been 3.5 years since the last game in the series. I just think the lower sales are two-fold - a.) it was on GOG initially and not Steam which limited the # of people who even knew it was out there and b.) the style of game isn't going to be as exciting as W2 or W3, so some people are probably turned off by that. I'll pick it up on Steam once I finish some other games I have in progress.

 

[Upgrayedd]

What's sad is there are people who refuse to buy games anywhere but Steam because of achievements.

 

[Divide Overflow]

They lost me with card mechanics.

 

[mouacyk]

Dumbing down just to get stuff out... Diablo Immortal and Red Alert Online were not taken very well by fans.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Thronebreaker: the Witcher Tales is a single-player, story-driven adventure with card mechanics

That is the problem. Card based games appeal to a small audience and are the exclusive reason for the slow sales of this game. Lose the card mechanics and give it a more Diablo/Torchlight feel and you'd have a success!

 

[Gasaraki]

I have it, I love it, play it everyday but it's not everyone's cup of tea. I hope CDProject didn't expect this game to be a hit. It's a card game and it's not multiplayer so people might not like that.

 

[Steevo]

I barely played Gwent, seemed boring and a waste of time to play a game in a game when it didn't change the outcome of what I wanted to do.

 

[Mistral]

Nope.
If the price tag for that game is $2 maybe...
No offense but it looks like just about every card game since the 1990's with a Witcher title.

I'd say it's well worth 10 times that. The moment it drops to around $20 I'm getting it. The story and the voice-acting are stellar.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I'd say it's well worth 10 times that. The moment it drops to around $20 I'm getting it. The story and the voice-acting are stellar.

$9.99 and I might... Just being honest

 

[okidna]

I was planning to buy the game when it released on Steam, but then CDPR did this :

 

[DirtbagDave]

Honestly while I'm sure its great for the type of game, to me it just seemed like an attempt to milk the franchise. Guess we'll see how they approach this.

 

[Sp33d Junki3]

Nope.
If the price tag for that game is $2 maybe...
No offense but it looks like just about every card game since the 1990's with a Witcher title.

Not even close. Wouldn't say that if you played the game.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Expecting card-based games to do well commercially is like expecting pigs to fly. I think CDPR overestimated the value of Witcher. It's not the story that sells those games, it's the gameplay. Get rid of the gameplay and what is left? Words. Yay?

I was planning to buy the game when it released on Steam, but then CDPR did this :

View attachment 110650

Pretty sure 139999 (~$9.52 USD) was a typo which is why they quickly changed it to 439999 (~$29.92 USD). Game retails for $29.99 USD.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

ANY successful series or game that's turned into a role-playing, turn-based, TCG style game is just BAD for a company's image. On top of making your player base into an angry mob carrying Tiki torches & pitchforks.

 

[CheapMeat]

There are no bad products, just bad prices (usually). I think the real issue is the $30 price tag (on Steam). I feel like if it was $20 it would have done better; a wider audience would have tried it out especially if it wasn't their usual taste in game style. At $30, only more hardcore fans of the series or card games / visual style would go for it.

 

[bug]

I don't have time to play games anymore, but I really enjoyed this franchise. I saw this on preorder and meant to buy it just to show support. But I have no idea what this is about so it kind of fell under my radar eventually.

 

[Valantar]

They lost me with card mechanics.

Same. Digital card games never appealed to me, and I think that's a sentiment shared by quite a few people - no matter the popularity of Hearthstone and similar games. And Gwent, of course.

An isometric top-down RPG set in the Witcher universe would be worth a try, but not if it messes up with turn-based combat or bloody cards.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Not even close. Wouldn't say that if you played the game.

Try to remember, not everyone is in to these kinds of games and therefore not everyone values them the same way. I personally would not download that game even if it were free. Not my kind of game. Some people love these kinds of games, just like some people love "Magic the Gathering".

 

[rtwjunkie]

It's not the story that sells those games,

I think it’s actually the opposite. Gameplay mechanics had problems in numerous areas.
Swordplay? Janky. Stepping up on a 1 inch step? Nope. Go around to a gentle slope, Geralt, steps are for sissies. Impossible to master crossbow? Check. Just a few examples.

It was the well-written and rich narrative with great dialogue and choices that made the games great.

 

[bug]

I think it’s actually the opposite. Gameplay mechanics had problems in numerous areas.
Swordplay? Janky. Stepping up on a 1 inch step? Nope. Go around to a gentle slope, Gerald, steps are for sissies. Impossible to master crossbow? Check. Just a few examples.

It was the well-written and rich narrative with great dialogue and choices that made the games great.

"Geralt. Witcher. Immune to cavities."

 

[rtwjunkie]

"Geralt. Witcher. Immune to cavities."

Damned autocorrect! Thanks.

 

[bug]

Damned autocorrect! Thanks.

Actually this one is a better quote: https://www.quotes.net/mquote/1134886
But yeah, story all the way. And choices that actually do something.