Netflix's The Witcher Won't Adapt The Video Games, Just The Books

Netflix's The Witcher won't be adapting the video games according to showrunner.
Netflix's The Witcher won't be adapting the video games according to showrunner. Netflix

At San Diego Comic Con earlier this week, Lauren Hissrich, the showrunner for Netflix's upcoming The Witcher series, took part in an open forum with the press. During the forum, Hissrich discussed numerous details about the highly-anticipated Netflix series, including the possibility of adapting the video games.

A reporter from The Wrap asked Hissrich about whether or not they're considering adapting the video games as well in the long run. Hissrich answered:

"Extreme long vision is no, we will not start adapting the games. I can only attack one season at a time, I'm so excited for this one, the rest kind of makes my mind explode right now. If someone says "What happens in Season 7?", sure I have thoughts. Fingers crossed, we get there."

While The Witcher was largely popularized by the trilogy of video games developed by CD Projekt Red, the story of Geralt of Rivia was actually based on a series of novels and short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. It's been known for a while that Netflix's The Witcher series will be based on Sapkowski's books, but fans have also been entertaining the possibility of adapting the events and stories that transpire in the games -- that is no longer the case.

Although the games were based on the The Witcher books, the story they tell actually continues the story told in the novels. The Witcher games developed by CD Projekt Red had their own original stories that take place after the events in the book, so in a way, adapting the novels presents several origin stories for the game's fans. Indeed, The Witcher Netflix series introduces several characters that players will definitely have come across in the games, including Ciri, the sorceress Yennefer, and plenty more.

Despite the fact that, if based solely on the books, Netflix's The Witcher series will eventually run out of source material, Hissrich firmly announced that they won't be adapting the video games.

So, will the Netflix ever adapt The Witcher games into a TV series? In the future, who knows? But right now, it's a definite no.

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