500,000 new Witcher books are being printed in the US

The success of The Witcher on Netflix drove a remarkable resurgence in the popularity of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which bulled its way back into the top ten on Steam with higher-than-ever concurrent player numbers. But that's not the only place where Geralt is enjoying newfound popularity. In an announcement earlier this week (via Kotaku UK), publisher Orbit Books said that it's reprinting more than a half-million copies of Andrzej Sapkowski's novels to meet new demand in the US.

"With the Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski created one of the most memorable characters in modern fantasy. The series inspired one of the most popular videogames of recent years and we’re thrilled that the Netflix adaptation, which launched in December, is introducing the Witcher to a whole new audience," Orbit said.

"The demand for all eight books in the series increased steadily last year in anticipation of the Netflix launch. Since its release, sales have been phenomenal in all formats—print, ebook and audio—and Orbit’s US division is currently reprinting over 500,000 copies to meet the exceptional demand."

The publisher didn't say how that number will be divided between Sapkowski's works, which includes two short story collections and six novels. It did publish a "what to read after you've watched The Witcher on Netflix" guide, though, not unlike our own guide to where to begin with The Witcher games if you've only seen the show. And if you're not familiar with any of it and want to start with the show first, we've got you covered there too: This interactive map will help make sense of the timeline, which can be a little confusing (or a lot) for newcomers.

Get prepped for The Witcher season 2 by reading up on everything we know about the new cast, characters, and release date.

TOPICS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.