CD Projekt Red Layoffs Hit Witcher Spin-off Project Sirius Again
CD Projekt Red has reportedly laid off nine employees working on Project Sirius, a multiplayer-linked Witcher spin-off, with nine more staff reshuffled to other teams within the studio.
Kotaku first reported the layoffs, citing an unnamed source who attributed the cuts to "a broader shift in development strategy" (Eurogamer). Eurogamer, publishing on 12 August 2026, corroborated the figures. CD Projekt Red had not publicly commented at the time of reporting; Eurogamer contacted the studio for a response.
Project Sirius was announced in 2022 as a Witcher spin-off with both single-player and multiplayer elements. It was originally in development at The Molasses Flood, an external studio CD Projekt Red had acquired. The project was rebooted after the company re-evaluated what it called "the scope and commercial potential of the original concept" (Eurogamer). CD Projekt Red later hired a narrative writer who had worked on Destiny 2 and Guild Wars 2 to join the Sirius team.
According to CD Projekt Red's financial report in May 2026, 83 people were working on Project Sirius at that time.
This is not the first time the project has seen staff reductions. In mid-2023, The Molasses Flood was hit by layoffs following the Sirius reboot, with CD Projekt confirming the changes to Kotaku at the time: "Because [Project Sirius] changed, so has the [workforce]" (Eurogamer). Insider Gaming reported that 29 employees were laid off then after a "new framework" was introduced for the title.
The 2023 cuts were part of a turbulent stretch for the Polish studio. Around 30 staff lost their jobs in June 2023 as the Witcher card game Gwent switched to a community-run model, with 21 of those roles based in the US (Eurogamer). The following month, CD Projekt announced plans to cut nearly 10% of its workforce across development, publishing and back-office roles (IGN. That third round of layoffs in three months prompted CD Projekt Red developers to unionise in October 2023 (Eurogamer).
Despite the upheaval on Sirius, CD Projekt Red's main focus remains clear. The Witcher 4 is the studio's top priority. A Witcher 3 expansion called Songs of the Past, developed in collaboration with studio Fool's Theory, is scheduled to arrive next year — before The Witcher 4. A sequel to Cyberpunk is also in development.
The broader Witcher pipeline extends beyond the mainline entries. A second Witcher multiplayer project, described as a free-to-play mobile game, has also been reported as in development (Eurogamer).
For fans, the Project Sirius cuts are a signal that the Witcher universe's multiplayer ambitions remain in flux — reshaped, rebooted and now trimmed again, while the single-player core of the franchise moves steadily toward The Witcher 4.
