Skip to main content
If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

CD Projekt RED: The "great majority" of Witcher 2 players will pay, not pirate

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings isn't jumping to consoles to escape piracy; CD Projekt just trusts you all to fork over your cash in return for a fair deal.

"We [have gone] DRM-free on PC. We believe people will buy the game anyway," level artist Marek Ziemak told GameFront.

"We provide a lot of great content in the box, also in the digital version. You know, piracy is going to be there, always, in all the platforms, but it’s not our main concern. There are a lot of players who buy the game, who enjoy it really, and who try and be fair."

"We try and deliver all the extra content for everyone who bought the game. That’s also another reason to have an original copy–to have all the patches, and all the DLC that are free if you bought the game. We try to be fair; we try to work on our products. And we actually trust people. We believe that the great majority will just buy the game."

"And not cheat us," lead combat designer Maciej Szczesnik added. "There are pirates who play the game, and also bought the game."

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was pirated an estimated 4.5 million times. CD Projekt removed all DRM from the game shortly after launch, but has pursued a vigorous legal stance against pirates. Identified pirates were issued hefty fines, but the publisher later dropped the campaign following fan criticism.

Read this next