CD Projekt recently announced “new framework” for The Molasses Flood’s Project Sirius, a spinoff of The Witcher series. While this seemed like good news after the company seemingly rebooted the title, various employees began tweeting shortly after about being laid off.
CD Projekt confirmed to PC Gamer that 29 people, most from The Molasses Flood, had departed the team. A representative for the company said, “Because the project changed, so has the composition of the team that’s working on it – mainly on The Molasses Flood’s side.” As a result, twenty-one team members in the United States and eight in Poland suffered layoffs.
It’s a pretty significant amount, considering Project Sirius had over 60 developers involved when first announced. However, when discussing its decision in March to re-evaluate the title’s development, CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said, “It’s better to cut costs early – and even restart if needed – than to carry on.” The layoffs may be part of that cost-cutting measure.
Project Sirius doesn’t have a release window or announced platforms. With these changes, it could be much farther off than previously planned. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.