Witcher Spin-off Project Sirius Loses Staff, Development Continues
This is the second major round of layoffs for Project Sirius since its 2023 restructuring, and the staff count has now dropped below the 83 reported in May, raising questions about the project's scope even as CD PROJEKT RED insists development is ongoing.
Key Facts
- CD PROJEKT RED reduced the development staff for Project Sirius, the Witcher series spin-off, on August 13, 2026, as reported by Kotaku.
- Four staff members from the Boston office and five from the Warsaw office were laid off, and nine others were made available to apply for other projects.
- The staff involved with Project Sirius now totals 65, down from 83 assigned as of April 30, 2026.
- Project Sirius was announced in 2022 as a single-player and multiplayer title driven by quests and a story campaign.
- The project underwent a restructuring and significant staff reductions in 2023, and The Molasses Flood was merged into CD PROJEKT RED in 2025.
Reporting from 2 sources: GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
CD PROJEKT RED has reduced the development staff for Project Sirius, the Witcher series spin-off described as a single-player and multiplayer title driven by quests and a story campaign. The reduction was reported by US outlet Kotaku on August 13, 2026, and confirmed by the company in a statement. According to that statement, four staff members from the Boston office and five from the Warsaw office were laid off, while nine others were made available to apply for other projects. This brings the staff involved with Project Sirius down to 65, from the 83 assigned as of April 30, 2026, per a CD PROJEKT RED announcement on May 29, 2026. The company said it adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the needs of the project during the development phase. Project Sirius was first announced in 2022. It underwent a restructuring and significant staff reductions in 2023, and in 2025, The Molasses Flood, the studio handling development, was merged into CD PROJEKT RED. Despite the latest cuts, the company has indicated that development of the project continues.
Project Sirius was announced in 2022 as a spin-off of the Witcher series, described as a single-player and multiplayer title driven by quests and a story campaign. The project has faced a turbulent development history. In 2023, it underwent a restructuring and significant staff reductions, and in 2025, The Molasses Flood, the studio originally handling development, was merged into CD PROJEKT RED. Despite these changes, the company has repeatedly stated that development continues.
The latest reduction, reported by Kotaku and confirmed by CD PROJEKT RED, involved layoffs of four staff from the Boston office and five from the Warsaw office, with nine others made available to apply for other projects. This brings the total staff on Project Sirius to 65, down from the 83 assigned as of April 30, 2026, according to a company announcement on May 29, 2026. The company stated that it adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the needs of the project during the development phase.
The reduction follows a pattern of adjustments for the project, which has seen multiple changes since its announcement. CD PROJEKT RED has not provided a new release window or further details on the project's current status beyond confirming that development is ongoing.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.