Witcher 3 $39 Codes Legitimate Despite Dev Accusation, Retailer Says

Earlier today, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developer CD Projekt RED said that a deal on Green Man Gaming that's selling codes of the game for $40 (down from $60) is coming from an "unknown source." It said that as such, none of the revenue from Green Man Gaming's current Witcher 3 promotion will go to CD Projekt Red.

In a statement to GameSpot, Green Man Gaming CEO Paul Sulyok explained that it tried to work with CD Projekt Red, but the developer chose to focus on its own platform, GOG.com, rather than give players more options for where they can buy the game.

"Following a six-month dialogue with [CD Projekt RED] about the launch of The Witcher 3, we were disappointed that despite the offer of significant cash advances, and other opportunities to officially work together, (we even offered to fly to Poland to discuss in detail how we could and wanted to support this launch), CDPR chose not to engage with a number of significant, reputable, and successful retailers, including ourselves, as they instead focused on supporting their own platform GOG. " Sulyok said.

"We, like millions of customers, are huge fans of The Witcher series, and have been eager for the launch of this amazing title. We believe that CDPR’s desire to support their own platform by working with retail outlets that would not conflict with their own is greater than that of meeting the demands of their audience, therefore we made the decision to indirectly secure the product and deliver it to our customers."

Sulyok explains that GMG chose to essentially go around CD Projekt RED by acquiring digital copies of the game from third parties and retailers that were approved by CD Projekt RED. According to Sulyok, this means that CD Projekt RED is getting the revenue from sales of these games, and that any additional discount is absorbed by GMG. Earlier today, CD Projekt RED told GameSpot it was getting "zero" revenue from these sales.

"We would heartily welcome a renewed dialogue with CDPR, and are keen to continue to not only support the launch of The Witcher 3, but to keep celebrating and bringing the whole catalogue of CDPR titles to a worldwide audience, as we have done since 2011," Sulyok said.

We've reached out to CD Project RED and will update this story with anything we hear back.