Netflix rejuvenates The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, sets new record on Steam

By Aaron Mamiit Published January 5, 2020

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has set a new record on Steam for concurrent players, largely due to renewed interest in the game after the release of The Witcher series on Netflix starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, and Freya Allan as Ciri.

Netflix rolled out all eight episodes of the first season of The Witcher on December 20, but a month before it premiered, Netflix had already renewed the series for a second season. After several days, The Witcher claimed the title as the biggest show worldwide, taking the throne away from Disney+’s The Mandalorian.

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The popularity of the show, which was based on the dark fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, has rejuvenated the games based on the same material, particularly The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Originally launched in May 2015 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One before being ported to the Nintendo Switch last October, the RPG has soared to new heights on Steam.

According to Steam Charts, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt set a new record of 103,329 concurrent players, as the game broke through the 100,000-mark for the first time since its launch more than four years ago. The data reveals that interest in the RPG steadily increased since The Witcher was rolled out on Netflix, eventually breaking the game’s previous record of 92,268 concurrent players that it set when it was first released.

Meanwhile, as of January 5, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was in the top 10 games by current player count on Steam at 63,986 players, landing at 7th place just behind Destiny 2 in an impressive feat for a game that is more than four years old.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was also added to the Xbox Game Pass before Netflix released The Witcher, so subscribers who got hooked on the series will be able to play as Geralt of Rivia in the massive RPG.

Fans of the franchise have a lot to look forward to, though the second season of The Witcher on Netflix is not expected to arrive until early 2021. Meanwhile, CD Projekt Red inked a new deal with Sapkowski, ending a feud over compensation and hinting at future projects set in The Witcher universe.

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