“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.

Sirius is an “innovative take on The Witcher universe” that will tell an “unforgettable tale for existing Witcher fans and new audiences.” It’s currently in pre-production with support from CD Projekt RED and over 60 developers involved. Considering how Where the Water Tastes Like Wine served as an anthology of different stories, this new Witcher title could be an adaptation of The Last Wish or Sword of Destiny.

The other title is Project Canis Majoris, a story-driven single-player open-world RPG set within The Witcher universe. It’s being developed by a third-party studio led by ex-Witcher veterans, though its development stage is unknown. No release window has been provided for either title so we’ll have to wait for more details. Stay tuned in the meantime.

pic.twitter.com/fERtM4Y0QK

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) October 4, 2022

pic.twitter.com/WDywXHIZkM

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) October 4, 2022

CD Projekt says it “will be working in close cooperation” with The Molasses Flood, but that the newly acquired team will “keep their current identity and will not be merged with existing teams.” Currently, The Molasses Flood is working on an “ambitious” new project all of its own, one that is apparently based on one of CD Projekt’s own IPs. Details on what this project is will be announced later.

CD Projekt president and joint-CEO Adam Kiciński said about the acquisition: “We’re always on the lookout for teams who make games with heart. The Molasses Flood share our passion for video game development, they’re experienced, quality-oriented, and have great technological insight. I’m convinced they will bring a lot of talent and determination to the Group.”

The Molasses Flood studio head Forrest Dowling said: “From the inception of The Molasses Flood, it was our goal to create games that touch and inspire people. When CD Projekt approached us about the possibility of working together, we saw an incredible opportunity to reach a much wider audience through a collaboration with a company we love, creating games in worlds we love. We could not be more excited to continue our mission with the support of CD Projekt and their incredibly talented team.”

This continues CD Projekt’s efforts to continue expanding its teams. The Polish company has previously said that it’s looking into mergers and acquisitions to ramp up efforts for upcoming projects, and earlier this year, also acquired Digital Scapes and established the studio as CD Projekt RED Vancouver.