Witcher spin-off studio The Molasses Flood hit by layoffs
Why can't things be simple anymore? Much like it's hard to keep track of where the once dormant Silent Hill series is going in terms of spin-offs, remakes, and reboots, it's much the same with The Witcher. Geralt of Rivia is ready to swing his sword, but he won't be alone in his adventures.
In October last year, CD Projekt Red blew the doors off the Witcherverse, confirming a new-gen remake of the original game, The Witcher 4 under the codename "Polaris," The Molasses Flood's multiplayer codenamed "Sirius," and more. Sirius is arguably the most intriguing but also the one in the most trouble.
The Witcher multiplayer hit with layoffs
It was only recently that Project Sirius was restarted, with CDPR President Adam Kiciński confirming it was a case of cutting your losses early and saving money in the long run by figuring out something wasn't working. Although production has kicked back into action, it's come at the cost of some serious talent.
Despite CDPR reiterating "a new framework" was in place for Sirius, it was quickly followed by rumours about mass layoffs at The Molasses Flood. CDPR acquired the Boston-based studio in 2021, with Sirius being the first big collaboration...if there's anyone left to make it.
As reported by Eurogamer, tweets from Technical Narrative designer Robert Bailey, Environment Artist Eleanore Falck, Senior Environment Artist and World Builder Gannon Jasper, and Art Producer Caryn M. Boehm confirm they've all lost their jobs at The Molasses Flood. This isn't some small-scale layoff, as they're all pretty key roles.
CD Projekt Red reponds to The Witcher layoffs
Click to enlargeConfirming the news to Kotaku, a CD Projekt spokesperson explained, "Because [Project Sirius] changed, so has the composition of the team that's working on it – mainly on The Molasses Flood's side." The final total is 29 employees across the board, with 21 being from the US and eight in Poland.
As The Molasses Flood workforce is only thought to be around 40 employees, losing half is a major blow. There was a lot of hype surrounding Sirius as the first Witcher game from an outside studio, and also because it's expected to be the franchise's first to include multiplayer.
We don't know what happens next, and although Sirius was thought to be in a good place following a rocky start, we can't see any other option than for the main branch of CDPR to support production or possibly even take over. Either way, mass layoffs are never a good look for anyone.
