The Witcher Author Admits He ‘Doesn’t Care’ About Witcher Schools Expanded in the Games
The Witcher Author Confesses He ‘Doesn’t Care’ About the Witcher Schools Expanded in the Games
Andrzej Sapkowski, the legendary author behind The Witcher novels, has openly admitted during a recent AMA on Reddit that he “does not care” about the expanded Witcher school lore created in the video games, and even called the original mention of the School of the Wolf in his first book The Last Wish a “mistake.”
When asked about CD Projekt Red’s decision to build on the idea of Witcher schools like the School of the Viper, School of the Bear, and others, Sapkowski responded bluntly that he never intended those concepts to grow beyond that single reference and doesn’t believe they should have been developed further.
According to him, the one-time mention of the School of the Wolf was just an offhand line that, in hindsight, weakened the story’s tone and direction. He even compared the idea of Witcher schools to the Hogwarts houses in Harry Potter, suggesting that such a system introduced unnecessary division into a world that was never meant to have it.
“I never intended to write about Witcher Gryffindors or Witcher Slytherins,” Sapkowski said. “But one sentence was enough for the game developers to cling to and expand into an entire lore.”
Sapkowski went on to say that he still isn’t sure how he wants to handle this issue moving forward. He’s considering removing the reference entirely in future reprints of The Last Wish or possibly reworking it into a story element tied to the Witcher medallions, which could be linked to individual characters rather than schools.
“I haven’t decided what to do yet,” he added. “I might remove it, expand on it, or reinterpret it through the details of the Witchers’ medallions and their personal significance.”
While Sapkowski seems disinterested in the concept, the Witcher games have built much of their world around it. Geralt himself is a member of the School of the Wolf, and many characters, weapons, and armor sets are closely tied to other Witcher schools.
Even though the author is distancing himself from that lore, CD Projekt Red shows no signs of abandoning it. The upcoming The Witcher 4, currently in development with over 400 staff members, is rumored to shift its protagonist from Geralt to Ciri and could feature an entirely new Witcher school with a key role in the story. While the game remains in pre-production, CDPR plans to begin full development this year, and more details will be revealed as the project progresses.
Whether Sapkowski likes it or not, the Witcher schools have become a fundamental part of the franchise’s modern identity, and fans are eager to see how the next chapter will build upon the legacy he inadvertently created.
