CD Projekt Red laying off 100 workers after becoming "overstaffed"

The Witcher and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red is laying off 100 employees as a result of being "overstaffed."

CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński said the layoffs represent around nine percent of the entire CD Projekt Red team, but are necessary as the studio looks to become "more agile and more effective."

"To meet our own high expectations and ambitions to create the best role-playing games, we not only want to have the best people but also the right teams," wrote Kiciński in a blog post.

"What we mean by that is having teams that are built around our projects’ needs; teams that are more agile and more effective. At this point in time, we’re certain that for CD Projekt Red to grow, we need to be consistent in implementing that approach."

CD Projekt claims agile team will help deliver "quality games"

CD Projekt is currently working on new entries in The Witcher and Cyberpunk series, codenamed 'Polaris' and 'Orion,' and is also developing a new franchise under the codename 'Hadar.' Despite having a fairly expansive slate, Kiciński explained that, based on current and expected project needs, the studio won't have enough work for those 100 employees in the next year.

"[The layoffs] will not be immediate as some employees will be let go as late as Q1 2024 but, in the spirit of transparency, we’ve chosen to share the information now. We want team members to have ample time to process and adjust to the change, and we’ve also made sure to offer everyone a comprehensive severance package," he continued.

Kiciński added that CD Projekt's focus on refining the shape of its development teams is in service of "making quality games, on time and without crunch."

This isn't the first time CD Projekt has cut jobs in 2023. Earlier this year, the company laid off members of The Molasses Flood, which is currently developing a multiplayer game set in the world of The Witcher, after altering its vision for the project.

More recently, 30 members of the Gwent team were also laid off after CD Projekt confirmed it will be ending active development on the card battler.