Granted, that’s only three more than it reported as of July 31st, but it makes sense since full production began almost a year ago. The developer has grown overall this past quarter, going from 799 to 851 developers with Cyberpunk 2, also known as Project Orion, gaining 21 more team members. Other projects like The Molasses Flood’s Project Sirius and new IP Project Hadar saw comparatively minor increases to their teams.

However, it’s interesting to note CD Projekt RED’s plans to scale its Boston, Warsaw and Vancouver teams for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. From October 2025 and well into 2027, it plans to more than double the former’s size to over 300 developers. The latter two teams will also go from fewer than 100 to well over 150, meaning over 450 developers will be working on the title in about two years.

While The Witcher 4 won’t launch before 2027 “at the earliest,” this presents a timeline for when CD Projekt RED may start winding down production and gradually shifting team members to Cyberpunk 2. That’s if everything goes according to plan, and with a project aiming to be the “most immersive and ambitious open-world Witcher game,” there may be some hiccups.

In an interview with Polish publication Parkiet, Nielubowicz spoke about wanting to introduce Ciri as the new protagonist in the trailer from The Game Awards 2024, and what it might mean for the series going forward.

“At the [The Game Awards 2024] in December, we presented the first trailer, which was created using our own version of the Unreal Engine 5 engine,” said Nielubowicz (translation via Google). “Although it did not show the gameplay itself, it gave players an idea of ​​what they could expect from ‘The Witcher 4’. Above all, we wanted to introduce the world to the main character of the game. We believe that Ciri is a great choice for the new saga because she gives us many possibilities – both narrative and artistic.”

“It also gives us the opportunity to tell the story from a new perspective. Apart from that, unfortunately, I cannot reveal anything more. We have the ambition to reach higher and higher with each new game, and this also applies to the fourth part of ‘The Witcher’.”

While being generally coy about more details about The Witcher 4, Nielubowicz also spoke about how the franchise has been quite successful, with more than 75 million copies sold, and how CD Projekt wants to further develop it through more games.

“We produced three parts of ‘The Witcher’ – each of them was a success, and each was a milestone for us in the development of CD Projekt,” he said. “To date, the entire trilogy has sold over 75 million copies. This is a phenomenal result that shows how big the potential of this brand is. What’s more, despite the passing of years, new players are still eager to reach for our ‘Witchers’.”

Nielubowicz also spoke about Project Sirius being made alongside The Witcher 4 to further expand on The Witcher franchise. He also mentioned the remake of the first game in the franchise, expected to be released only after The Witcher 4 has hit store shelves.

“We have a strong franchise in our hands, which we want to develop further, among other things, through further productions,” he said. “A lot is already happening here. We are working full steam ahead on ‘The Witcher 4’, which will open a new Witcher saga, and in parallel, work is underway on a project codenamed [Sirius], and we have also started a remake of the first ‘The Witcher’.”

In the meantime, The Witcher 4 is still going strong in development, with the developers at CD Projekt RED releasing regular behind-the-scenes details through the studio’s podcast. The game is currently in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game, however, isn’t expected to be out until 2027 at the earliest. The developers have also asked fans of the series to be careful about scams posing as beta invitations for the upcoming game.

“We want to let you know that on April 1, 2025, The Molasses Flood LLC (“TMF”) merged with CD PROJEKT RED Inc. (“CDPR Inc.”), a company being a part of the CD PROJEKT Group,” wrote The Molasses Flood in its statement. “As a result of the merger TMF, in its former legal state (of a separate legal entity) ceased its operations, while CDPR Inc. assumed the rights and obligations of TMF.”

The studio did say that, while it is no longer an individual legal entity, its work on The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow will not be affected by this move. On the completion of development, CD Projekt will continue to publish the games.

“The merger will not affect the availability or distribution of ‘The Flame in The Flood‘ and ‘Drake Hollow‘ video games, which will continue to be published by CD PROJEKT Group,” it wrote.

The Molasses Flood co-founder Damian Isla took to LinkedIn to talk about the merger in more detail. In a post on the social media website, Isla referred to the move as being “the end of an era.” He also referred to the merger as being a good thing for the studio, crediting it with helping break down organisational barriers.

“To be ultra clear: this is a GOOD AND HEALTHY thing for the studio, and it was long-expected. It breaks down some organizational barriers, and better integrates the TMF team with the rest of the amazing CDPR org,” wrote Isla. “Overall, it shows a very bright future for Project Sirius (aka “the multiplayer Witcher game,” of which I was the Design Director for three years). It’s going to be an amazing game, one for the books, and I cannot wait until the rest of the world learns about what we’ve been working on.”

However, Isla does note that he has decided to “not follow TMF on this transition.” He has stated that March 31 was his last day with the studio.

“Obviously this is a big change,” he wrote. “TMF has been a huge part of my life for the past decade plus, and I’m proud of have been a part of building something that lasted as long as TMF did, in a market environment often quite hostile to tiny teams like ours. I think we made some beautiful, memorable and quirky things, and I’ve also gotten to work with some of the kindest, most generous and talented people in the industry.”

CD Projekt had acquired The Molasses Flood all the way back in October 2021. Since then, The Molasses Flood has been working on its own projects, as well as Project Sirius, which is going to be a multiplayer game based on The Witcher franchise.

As of April 30th, 2023, it has the largest development team, followed by Project Polaris, the next mainline Witcher game. Compared to December 31st, 2022, the number of developers on Polaris continues to grow. The same applies to “other projects,” with the team size noticeably increasing since December (though what they’re working on wasn’t specified).

Interestingly, the third largest is on Project Sirius, a Witcher spinoff developed by The Molasses Flood, which suffered layoffs earlier this month. Project Sirius was announced with over 60 developers onboard, and 29 have since departed. Time will tell if the next update reflects the reduced team size.

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.

Bailey was laid off on May 12th and “enjoyed the work I’d been doing until my last day and would love to keep doing that.” Based on the timing of her tweet, Falck may also have been laid off on the same day and is seeking new opportunities, ideally as an environment artist on a “stylized game.”

Following its initial announcement, Project Sirius made the news back in March when CD Projekt announced “an impairment allowance about expenses incurred in the scope of development work“ for the same, which would “accordingly burden the financial results for the first quarter of 2023.” It confirmed a “new framework” for the project last week, just one day before the layoffs seemingly occurred.

What this means for the project and its scope, much less for The Molasses Flood, remains unknown. Project Sirius is without a release date or official name, so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Yesterday I was laid off from Molasses Flood.
It's not as fun to update the bio this time.
I enjoyed the work I'd been doing until my last day and would love to keep doing that.

If anyone has any leads on a narrative and/or tech design position I'd be happy to take a look.

— Robert Bailey (@thrownerror) May 12, 2023

https://twitter.com/EleanoreFalck/status/1657095081155780608

That process, it seems, has now been completed. In a recently published regulatory announcement, the company confirmed “the conclusion of work on defining a new framework for Project Sirius“.

Exactly what that entails in terms of the scope and nature of the game as per its new vision remains unclear, though CD Projekt does confirm that the framework will lead to a “partial reversal” of 21.5 million PLN against its impairment allowance of 33.4 million PLN, while part of the development expenditures, amounting to 2.7 million PLN, will also be written off.

In addition to multiple Witcher projects, CD Projekt RED is currently also working on the expansion Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, which will be followed by a full-fledged sequel codenamed Project Orion.

In a recent earnings conference, the company’s CFO, Piotr Nielubowicz, offered some new details on the development, what it means for the project, and why the decision was taken. Describing Project Sirius as a unique project that is new to CD Projekt RED as a company “in terms of design”, Nielubowicz said that “to stay in control and keep the right course”, the company decided to re-evaluate it, feeling that “cutting costs” early would be a smarter option than carrying on further in a direction that they were unsure about.

“I’m aware that it’s not great to hear from a company that the project is being re-evaluated,” he said (via VGC. “But at the same time, in order to stay innovative we must experiment and be brave when trying new paths, and to stay in control and keep the right course, especially with a project that is new to us in terms of design, developed by a new studio in our family.

“We need to keep evaluating the situation as we move along. It’s better to cut costs early – and even restart if needed – than to carry on.”

CEO Adam Kiciński also chimed in with similar statements, saying, “Our intention was to cut costs early and give ourselves time for re-assessment. We don’t want to carry on with projects that we are not aligned with. So basically that’s all we’d like to share about Project Sirius for now.”

What that means for the project as a whole remains to be seen, but while it’s clear as of now what stage of production the game is now in following its development apparently having been rebooted or what its scope will be moving forward, one thing that is abundantly clear that one way or another, The Molasses Flood might be starting from scratch with this one.

In addition to that, The Molasses Flood is working on a game currently codenamed Project Sirius, which has been described as “innovative take on The Witcher universe” that will tell an “unforgettable tale for existing Witcher fans and new audiences”, though it seems that title has seen some unexpected developments behind the scenes.

As per a regulatory announcement published earlier this week, CD Projekt seems to have rebooted Project Sirius’ development. As per the announcement, the company has established “an impairment allowance with regard to expenses incurred in the scope of development work related to Project Sirius“, and says the expenses will “accordingly burden the financial results for the first quarter of 2023.”

The company goes on to say that the decision is “based on results of evaluation of the scope and commercial potential of the original concept of Project Sirius, and ongoing work on formulating a new framework for this project.”

Given the fact that CD Projekt is injecting more money into the project in its early stages and talking about its commercial potential, one has to wonder what that means for the project’s current scope, though the company has yet to provide any specific details regarding what this shift in approach to the title’s development entails.

Previous job listings have suggested that Project Sirius could feature elements such as procedural generation, co-op gameplay, branching storylines, and more. Read more on that through here.

The most crucial detail emerging from the ads is probably the fact that the game will feature multiplayer elements, as evidenced by a listing for the position of Senior Multiplayer Designer, which makes mention of co-op and “engaging multiplayer gameplay features, game modes, player progression, and social systems.”

Meanwhile, a listing for Technical Game Designer also mentions “experience working with procedural generation systems” under its “nice to haves” section, suggesting that Project Sirius could feature procedurally generated levels similar to previous games developed by The Molasses Flood. Interestingly, the listing for Narrative Director also makes mention of things such as “branching” and “cinematic” storytelling and “voiced dialogue”. The Senior World Builder listing, meanwhile, describes the title as a “stylized” game.

When CD Projekt first spoke about Project Sirius last year, it said that the game was in pre-production, which means it’s unlikely to unveil any concrete details on it in an official capacity anytime soon. Of course, as always, there’s also the chance that features and mechanics that the developer is thinking of implementing in these early stages of development end up not making the cut- all of which is to say that things probably aren’t set in stone right now.

A number of other The Witcher games have also been confirmed to be in development by CD Projekt RED beyond The Molasses Flood’s Project Sirius, including a new mainline game that will kickstart a new saga for the series, as well as a ground-up open world remake of the original game.