CD Projekt Red, the developer of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 role-playing games, has laid off 100 individuals. This has been done after citing the need to undergo “deep transformations” in an effort to reduce the workforce by about 10%. The layoffs will take place over the course of several months, with some workers departing by March 2024.
In an official blog post, CEO Adam Kicinski made a statement:
“After reshaping our development process and incorporating Agile methodologies, we’re now focusing on refining the shape of our team. 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. 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.”
Adam Kicinski, CD Projekt Red CEO
At the moment, the studio is “overstaffed” and to compensate those who must depart, laid-off workers will receive “comprehensive” severance packages. Kicinski made it clear that the team wants to give its members ample time to process and adjust to these changes.
These layoffs come briefly after the announcement that the remaining team members working on Gwent were to be let go after the end of production on that title. Furthermore, the upcoming Witcher game Project Sirius saw 25 staff members laid off after the implementation of a “new framework.”
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Currently, CD Projekt Red has multiple new projects in development. A sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is on the way, a new Witcher trilogy of games is in development, a new IP known as Project Hadar is being worked on, and the upcoming expansion to Cyberpunk 2077, Phantom Liberty, will arrive in September.