CDPR lays off Molasses Flood devs after "changes" to Witcher spinoff

CD Projekt Red has laid off members of The Molasses Flood, the studio making a multiplayer game for its Witcher series. 

Last week, the Polish developer announced that its subsidiary studio was "defining a new framework" for the game, currently known as Project Sirius. As part of that new change, Kotaku was informed that 29 (out of 43, according to LinkedIn) developers were cut. 

"Because the project changed, so has the composition of the team that’s working on it–mainly on The Molasses Flood's side," said CDPR to Kotaku. The majority of those layoffs were done in the US, and the remaining 8 were employed in Poland. 

The Molasses Flood was acquired by CDPR back in 2021. To date, Sirius will be the studio's third game overall (after The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow) and its first under its parent company. 

Job cuts at The Molasses Flood

Following the announcement of a new framework, multiple developers took to Twitter to announce they'd been let go from The Molasses Flood. No reason for the cuts were given, though CDPR's writeup of the internal reboot notes that the new framework used a "material part" of that initial concept. 

Project Sirius was one of several projects announced by CDPR back in October. The project will mark another for into multiplayer for the Witcher franchise, and the developer said at the time it would be an "innovative take" meant for a larger audience. 

Other projects in the works at CD Projekt Red include a remake of the original The Witcher, a new trilogy of games in the same world, and a wholly new property altogether.