In retrospect no, The Witcher 3 would have been a success even if it were delayed by a year. But consider that CD Projekt almost went bankrupt over the developm

In retrospect no, The Witcher 3 would have been a success even if it were delayed by a year. But consider that CD Projekt almost went bankrupt over the development of Witcher 2 due to costs and delays and that video games are an incredibly risky business. There's a saying that businesses don't fail because they're unprofitable, they fail due to cash flow issues. Development costs only go up, so the longer a game takes the more expensive every single day of development ends up costing. Even if the game would ultimately prove to be successful, the huge risk that comes from having to fund its continued development for an extended period of time can put a company in jeopardy. That The Witcher 3 ended up being a massive success is great but it was never a guarantee.