'The Witcher' Spin-off Hit by Layoffs to “Reflect the Project’s Needs”

According to Kotaku, CD Projekt has confirmed that nine employees working on Project Sirius – a spin-off of The Witcher – have been laid off.

The company said it "adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the project's needs at this stage of development." Four people in Boston and five in Warsaw were let go, while another nine were invited to take part in internal recruitment processes for other projects at the studio.

Project Sirius was revealed in 2022 as a new CD Projekt title, developed by studio The Molasses Flood (acquired in 2021), and was described as a The Witcher game with single-player and cooperative multiplayer elements. In 2023, the project underwent a reboot and 29 developers were laid off. Since then, little has been revealed about the game's progress – its official title has not even been announced.

Despite the silence, sources indicate that the project had been progressing well recently, following changes implemented in the spring. CD Projekt also hired writer Kwan Perng (known for his work on Destiny 2) as lead writer. Before the layoffs, 83 people were working on Project Sirius – after the cuts, the team now has 65 members.

In a statement, the company said that nine employees – four in Boston and five in Warsaw – were let go, and that another nine may apply for openings on other projects. The studio reiterated that the cuts reflect the production's current needs.