The Witcher 3: 10 Things You Didn't Know
5. The Story It Was Based On Was Published First In A Magazine
A well-known fact about The Witcher 3, as well as the rest of the series, is that it is based upon a series of books written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. A more little-known fact, however, is that these books were never originally intended to be books at all.
In an interview, Sapkowski revealed that the Witcher series was inspired by his son, who was a reader of the Polish fantasy and sci-fi magazine Fantastyka. Sapkowski read that Fantastyka was holding a short story contest, and in order to enter it, he wrote a short story of The Witcher on a whim. While it only received 3rd place, it was published in Fantastyka and received critical acclaim, inspiring Sapkowski to continue with the series.
Who would have imagined that the fantastically popular world of The Witcher 3 was based not just on a book, but on a short story published in a magazine? The judges probably wish they’d awarded Sapkowski with the 1st place prize now instead.