Upcoming The Witcher Game Could Be at Risk According to New Update

Last month, CD Projekt Red made The Witcher fans very happy when it finally confirmed that The Witcher 3 is getting an expansion. Though it won’t be out until 2027, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past is real. In fact, fans will be treated to our first real look at the expansion in a few weeks, during Opening Night Live at The Game Awards. Alas, not every The Witcher project has such rosy news to share. The long-awaited spin-off, known by its code name of Project Sirius, could be in trouble according to the latest report.

On August 12th, Kotaku revealed that the team working on The Witcher‘s multiplayer spin-off has suffered another wave of layoffs. According to this report, nine people were let go, while another nine are being shifted to other projects. Other outlets, including IGN, have since confirmed this information with CD Projekt Red. Though Project Sirius has not been formally cancelled, losing that many people from its development team doesn’t seem like a great sign. The project, which has been in the works since 2022, is still relatively shrouded in mystery. Now, it seems like it could be at risk of being shuttered entirely.

Recent Layoffs Could Spell the End for The Witcher‘s Project Sirius

It’s been a while since CD Projekt Red has offered any major updates on Project Sirius. The spin-off, which will heavily feature multiplayer gameplay, was first announced in 2022. Back in 2023, the project got a massive overhaul, establishing a “new framework” for development moving forward. Since then, we’ve heard relatively little about the project. In the meantime, another multiplayer title set in the world of The Witcher is rumored to be underway. That, coupled with this latest news, doesn’t look great for the future of Project Sirius.

According to a statement issued by CD Projekt Red, the team size has been “adjusted… to reflect the project’s needs at this stage in development.” This round of layoffs marks the second time the team working on Project Sirius has been massively restructured. At this point, it’s pretty clear that the game’s development process hasn’t gone smoothly. With the team losing more people, it could be a sign that CD Projekt Red is preparing to cut its losses on the multiplayer The Witcher experiment. After all, there’s plenty else in the world of The Witcher to focus on, including the upcoming Witcher 3 expansion and long-awaited The Witcher 4.

That said, the game has been in development for four years. These layoffs could also signal that Project Sirius is in the final stages of development. If that’s the case, it could mean the game is gearing up for launch, not cancellation. That said, we have still seen basically nothing from Project Sirius. So unless CD Projekt Red and The Molasses Flood are keeping secrets, it’s not super likely the game is nearing launch. At this time, however, CD Projekt Red doesn’t appear to be ready to confirm it’s cancelling its multiplayer Witcher spin-off. All we know for now is that, unfortunately, some of the team working on the game have been let go.

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