The Witcher spinoff studio hit with layoffs as project restructured
The team is currently working on a multiplayer spinoff set in the world of The Witcher.
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What you need to know
The story of layoffs at gaming studios in 2023 continues.
Several employees at CD Projekt RED working on Project Sirius have been laid off following a recent reboot of the game. Project Sirius — previously announced alongside aCyberpunk 2077 sequel, new Witcher trilogy, and new IP— is a multiplayer spinoff title set in the world of The Witcher, and will reportedly have a stylized art direction.
Project Sirius is primarily in development at The Molasses Flood, a studio in Boston, Massachusetts that previously released The Flame in the Flood before being acquired by CD Projekt in 2021.
In a statement toGameSpot, CD Projekt RED said that “Because the project changed, so has the composition of the team that’s working on it–mainly on The Molasses Flood’s side. The concrete number of employees we parted ways with is 21 team members in the US and 8 in Poland,” the latter of which were working on the game outside of the U.S.
These layoffs join thousands of others across gaming and tech in 2023, with Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon laying off thousands of workers.Electronic Arts laid off hundreds of QA workersearlier in the year, and Sony recently announced plans to close PlayStation studio PixelOpus.
Windows Central’s take
I understand that corporations are going to behave like corporations, but it’s still disappointing to see this trend of layoffs continuing this year. Hopefully everyone at the studios in Boston and Poland who were affected land on their feet and find new jobs soon.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
This 2015 open world RPG is getting a free upgrade, with new performance modes and ray-tracing options that enhance the visuals, alongside other extras like a new quest, a photo mode, and more.
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
