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CD Projekt cuts nine Project Sirius developers amid strategy shift
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
CD Projekt has laid off nine developers working on Project Sirius, its multiplayer-focused Witcher game, while transferring another nine staff as it revises its development strategy. The move renews uncertainty around a project that has already been restarted, highlighting the challenge of extending The Witcher beyond CD Projekt’s established single-player role-playing formula.
Project Sirius is being developed by CD Projekt Red Boston, which incorporates former Molasses Flood staff, and is planned to include both single-player and multiplayer modes for a broader audience. Announced in 2022 with more than 60 developers, it was restarted in 2023 alongside 29 redundancies; the latest cuts come despite reports that development had improved following changes earlier in the year.
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In short
- Nine Project Sirius developers were laid off.
- Another nine staff were reassigned internally.
- The multiplayer Witcher project has faced repeated disruption.
How this story developed
- 3 months ago CD Projekt has cut nine jobs and moved nine other staff from Project Sirius, its troubled multiplayer-oriented Witcher spin-off, as it revises the game’s development approach.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Game companies must make difficult financial decisions to ensure long-term viability. If a project has already required substantial restructuring and is not yet meeting its strategic goals, reallocating resources may be the most responsible course. Transferring rather than simply dismissing developers allows CD Projekt to maintain capability whilst adjusting the project's scope and timeline. Continuing to spend on an underperforming initiative risks greater losses that could affect the company's overall health and future projects.
The case against
Successful game development, particularly for an ambitious multiplayer venture, depends upon team stability and sustained focus. This marks the second major restructuring of Project Sirius in three years, suggesting either persistent poor planning or a fundamental strategic uncertainty about the project's viability. Such repeated disruption demoralises remaining staff, makes recruiting and retaining talent considerably more difficult, and undermines the creative coherence necessary to complete a complex game. If development genuinely improved earlier this year, the timing of these cuts raises questions about whether earlier decisions were sound.
Explained simply
CD Projekt is the Polish video game company behind The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. Its best-known games are large, story-led role-playing games designed mainly for one person to play.
Project Sirius is a planned Witcher game that would add online multiplayer elements while retaining a single-player component. It is being made by CD Projekt Red Boston, a studio that includes staff from The Molasses Flood, a US developer acquired by CD Projekt.
The project has had a difficult development history, including an earlier restart and job losses. It matters because it is part of CD Projekt’s attempt to broaden one of its biggest game series while it is also developing several other Witcher, Cyberpunk and new original projects.
Coverage · 2 sources
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Originally published by Polygon as “Team behind multiplayer Witcher game ‘Project Sirius’ hit by layoffs”.