In Poland, there is a school that has been training live-action role players like Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher, since 2015. This was done for 7 years with a license from CD Projekt Red. But that is now over. The reason for losing the license appears to be the connections of a lawyer associated with the school to a Polish think tank with radical political views.
That was the idea of the school:
- The idea of the school was for people to arrive and experience a completely immersive experience as if they were attending a school where they are trained to become a Witcher.
- The school advertised that the experience was like in a movie, only that you could influence the events. They even guaranteed “real emotions” (via witcherschool)
- One day at the school included class hours, lessons in archery or sword fighting, and of course the all-important monster lore.
School must close – loses the license
This is what the school says: In a Facebook post from the Witcher School, it is stated (via fb):
“It has been 7 wonderful years, 40 organized outings, many hundreds of participants worked on the event, 3,117 trained Witchers from 54 countries participated, and at least 2,841 monsters were slain.”
They started as children fighting with sticks and never expected that their own Witcher school would come of it.
Company believes false reports are to blame
Why is this ending now? The post sounds like a farewell because it is one: CD Projekt Red has revoked the license from the company behind the school.
As stated in a company statement (via FB), they lost the license because the wife of one of the founders worked as a lawyer to draft a licensing agreement with CD Projekt Red.
Additionally, the woman worked as a lawyer for various organizations, including “Ordo Iuris”, an “association with right-wing and Catholic views,” as described by the Witcher School.
In March 2022, an article appeared claiming that the lawyer was working simultaneously for the Witcher School and for Ordo Iuris. The school states that this is not true, as the lawyer has not worked for the Witcher School since 2019, but at the time the report with this claim came out, CD Projekt Red revoked the school’s license to the Witcher.
They wanted to clarify this with CD Projekt Red, but no agreement was reached. The Witcher School itself does not want to interfere in the private matters of its employees.
CD Projekt Red says: No comment
What does CD Projekt Red say? In a statement to Eurogamer, it is said that the cooperation was terminated in February, and three months later the deadline expired. They do not want to comment further on the matter.
Founder’s wife worked for think tank opposing abortion and LGBTQ+ rights
What is the problem now? What the Witcher School refers to as an organization with “Catholic views,” Ordo Iuris, is a controversial think tank that has earned a reputation as an organization opposed to abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and divorce.
Apparently, CD Projekt Red, which is itself in the crosshairs of public opinion, wanted no connection to such an organization – even if the connection is tenuous. The school also emphasizes in its statements that the lawyer is just one of hundreds of contributors and she has had nothing to do with the school for years.
The school apparently believes that press articles that established this connection have calculated this to lead to the closure now.
The Witcher studio, CD Projekt Red, is itself struggling with some problems:
Witcher 4 is looking for new employees – but the boss is faced with a dark past
