The Witcher Multiplayer Spin-Off Studio Hit With Layoffs Due to Game Reboot: Report

The Witcher multiplayer spin-off sport — codenamed ‘Sirius’ — underwent a significant overhaul final week, because of a developmental restart that outlined a ‘new framework.’ Within the course of, developer The Molasses Flood has reportedly laid off 29 workers — 21 group members within the US and eight from Poland. The Boston-based studio, greatest identified for the roguelike survival sport The Flame within the Hood, was confirmed to be main growth on The Witcher multiplayer spin-off final yr, with direct help from CD Projekt Red. On the time, a single-player marketing campaign mode was talked about as effectively, although now, it is unclear if it is nonetheless on the desk.

The Molasses Flood was based in 2014 by a gaggle of veteran builders who labored on Halo and BioShock, after which, it was acquired by The Witcher maker in 2021. “As a result of the undertaking modified, so has the composition of the group that is engaged on it–primarily on The Molasses Flood’s facet,” a CD Projekt Crimson spokesperson stated in a press release to Kotaku. Again in March, the writer filed an impairment cost on Sirius, which is of course achieved as a way to put in writing off property as a result of they serve negligible worth to the corporate. However throughout a financial earnings call in April, the corporate confirmed that the undertaking had not been cancelled and that it was merely being reevaluated.

“So this can be a undertaking which is, I’d say, insourced. It is also new to us when it comes to design and format. For these causes, it’s extremely completely different from the large productions we’re identified for,” Adam Kiciński, CEO, CD Projekt Crimson, stated within the Q&A session. “To remain aggressive, we now have to maintain in search of new methods to increase our franchises.”

The multiplayer-focused ‘Sirius’ was announced in October final yr, alongside plans for a brand new The Witcher trilogy — dubbed ‘The Witcher Polaris’ — and an open-world remake of the primary sport within the fantasy RPG franchise, totally rebuilt from the bottom up utilizing Unreal Engine 5. Polish studio Idiot’s Idea is main growth on it, which consists of veteran The Witcher collection employees and certain follows the identical story as the unique — monster hunter Geralt of Rivia occurring a quest to regain his recollections throughout a fantastical panorama. Whereas the 2007 title acquired an Enhanced Edition earlier than, this one is the primary time it is being totally rebuilt. In the meantime, we already acquired an update on The Witcher 4 in March 2022, which marks the primary entry within the new trilogy.

CD Projekt Crimson can also be engaged on the Cyberpunk 2077 enlargement, Phantom Liberty, that includes actor Idris Elba as Solomon Reed, an FIA agent for the ‘New United States of America.’ At present, there isn’t a launch date for a similar however is anticipated to drop someday this yr on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. Through the October presentation, the writer additionally announced a sequel, codenamed ‘Orion,’ which is touted to take the “Cyberpunk franchise additional and proceed harnessing the potential of this darkish future universe.” Kiciński famous on the time that growth on the sequel was nonetheless within the early phases and required additional progress of the group.