The Witcher franchise may have a promising future, but not all of its upcoming projects are progressing smoothly. CD Projekt RED, the studio behind the acclaimed RPG series, has confirmed layoffs across several of its offices.

The company’s expansive roadmap includes a new trilogy starring Ciri, a full-scale remake of Geralt de Rivia’s original adventure, additional story content for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and a multiplayer-focused spin-off codenamed Project Sirius. Yet it seems one of these projects may not be happening after all.

Layoffs at CD Projekt RED Due to Project Sirius, The Witcher Multiplayer Title

The latest wave of job cuts is directly tied to Project Sirius, the multiplayer entry that has long been one of CD Projekt RED’s most ambitious projects. First announced in late 2022 as part of a slate that also included new Cyberpunk 2077 projects, the game was supposed to combine a campaign with online cooperative elements.

Development duties were entrusted to Molasses Flood, the studio behind the indie survival title The Flame in the Flood. However, it seems progress has not met timeline deadlines. The project suffered a major setback in 2023 when it was forced to undergo a significant reboot.

Things have not improved for Project Sirius and, in a statement, CD Projekt RED acknowledged the impact of these layoffs. The studio confirmed that 9 developers working on Project Sirius have been laid off, while an additional 9 team members will be reassigned to other internal projects.

Prior to these reductions, the development team numbered 83 employees as of April of this year. With the latest departures, 4 from the Boston office and 5 from Warsaw, the core team now stands at roughly 60 personnel, following earlier cuts in 2023.

“We adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the project’s needs at this stage of development,” CD Projekt said. “As a result, four people in Boston and five in Warsaw are leaving the company, while nine others have been invited to internal recruitment processes for potential roles on other CD Projekt Red projects.”

The Witcher Project Sirius

Is Project Sirius Canceled?

Announced back in 2022, Project Sirius has yet to receive so much as a single official image from CD Projekt RED., which fuels uncertainty about its future. At present, the studio is focused on The Witcher IV and the upcoming expansion for The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

The remake of the very first Witcher game is also a priority in the studio’s roadmap, alongside future Cyberpunk projects including the highly anticipated sequel to the futuristic RPG. With all these titles in the pipeline, Project Sirius seems to have been relegated to the bottom of the priority list.

In a recent statement, CD Projekt RED declined to offer any update on the multiplayer project’s current status but it seems that development is continuing, at least for the time being.

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