The Witcher multiplayer spin-off Project Sirius hit with another wave of layoffs

The latest cuts affect four employees in Boston and five in Warsaw, directly reducing the core staff working on Project Sirius, the long‑awaited multiplayer spin‑off of The Witcher franchise. CD Projekt’s spokesperson framed the move as a “size adjustment” to match the project’s current development phase, while simultaneously allowing nine other workers to apply for openings on separate CD Projekt titles. This follows a prior downsizing in 2023 that primarily targeted The Molasses Flood, the external studio co‑developing Sirius, suggesting that the partnership is still grappling with resource allocation and milestone pressures. The public acknowledgment by CD Projekt, prompted by reporting from Kotaku, adds credibility to the rumors that the game’s scope or timeline may be in flux.

Project Sirius has been in the pipeline for roughly four years, conceived as a free‑to‑play, online Witcher RPG under the joint stewardship of CD Projekt Red and The Molasses Flood. However, concrete details about gameplay, monetisation, or launch windows remain scarce, and the project has already undergone multiple redesigns. In the broader industry, studios are increasingly cautious about ambitious live‑service titles after mixed results from other high‑budget multiplayer experiments. CD Projekt’s recent financial turbulence—exacerbated by the fallout from Cyberpunk 2077 and the costly “mid‑development” overhaul of its flagship RPG—means the company is likely scrutinising any venture that could strain cash flow. The repeated staffing reductions signal that Project Sirius may be pivoting toward a smaller, perhaps more modest scope, or could even be at risk of cancellation if internal confidence does not improve.

Looking ahead, observers should monitor CD Projekt’s official communications for any updates on Project Sirius’s development roadmap, especially any announcements about beta testing, funding allocations, or a revised release strategy. The fate of the nine employees who remain on the project will be a barometer for whether the studio intends to keep a lean version alive or to wind it down entirely. Additionally, any shift in The Molasses Flood’s involvement—whether a deeper integration with CD Projekt’s Warsaw hub or a complete disengagement—will reveal how the partnership is being restructured. Finally, the company’s broader hiring trends, particularly for live‑service expertise, will indicate whether CD Projekt is still betting on multiplayer as a growth vector or retreating to its single‑player roots.