The Witcher Sirius, the next game from the license in the form of a spin-off, is starting its development from scratch. CD Projekt RED is however less reassuring than hoped for its future.
The Witcher license still has a bright future under the supervision of CD Projekt RED. If on the series side, the weather hasn’t been good since the departure of Henry Cavill, it’s another story on the video game side. No less than three new productions are planned for the next few years. The most anticipated is naturally The Witcher 4, followed by the remake of the very first episode. The last project is more nebulous and uncertain. The developers had simply said that they wanted to offer something new for the license, which should result in a multi-cooperative aspect and PvE. However, this famous The Witcher Sirius obviously did not convince CD Projekt who had to make a heavy decision. The Polish studio speaks on the subject.
CDPR justifies The Witcher Sirius reboot
Blow to The Witcher Sirius. Developed by the small team of The Molasses Flood, a studio acquired by CD Projekt RED, the spin-off intends to offer an original experience. The first job offers hinted at a multiplayer game focused on coop and narration which was not without displeasing fans of the license. However, the Polish publisher announced last week that the development of this unique vision of Andrzej Sapkowski’s work would start from scratch. A decision which was justified by the evaluation of the commercial potential of the game, CD Projekt judging that the original concept did not live up to their expectations. An announcement that challenged as much as it disappointed the fans and the studio is aware of it.
« I know that it is never very pleasant to learn from a company that a project is being re-evaluated. But at the same time, to stay innovative we have to experiment and be brave when trying new things. “Explained in the preamble Piotr Nielubowicz, Chief Financial Officer during the last conference with investors. In the end, it was above all a cost and quality problem that led to the reboot of The Witcher Sirius. « To stay on course and stay in control, especially with a project being new to us in terms of design and being developed by a new studio in our family, we need to assess the situation as we move forward. It is better to reduce costs from the beginning, or even start from scratch, if necessary, rather than to continue “, he then added.
The game in danger? Statements that worry
In the aftermath, the financial director made a statement that alarmed the players. While an investor asked him to elaborate his answer on The Witcher Sirius and on the reasons that led to its reboot, Kicinski has reportedly implied the project could then simply be canceled. In any case, this is how many fans interpreted his remarks.
To stay competitive, we must continue to look for new ways to expand our franchises. At the same time, we must also be prepared to re-evaluate our original concepts even if development is already underway. Our intention was to reduce costs at an early stage and give us time to reassess the situation. We do not want to continue with projects with which we are not connected. So that’s all we want to share about the Sirius project for now.
– Piotr Nielubowicz, directeur financier of CD Projekt RED
Our colleagues from GamesRadar have contacted CDPR to clarify their comments and find out whether The Witcher Sirius was still in development or not. ” I can only say that our current focus is to ensure that it is aligned with the CD Projekt group strategy. At this stage, we give neither indications on the evaluation of the project nor on the potential future systems of this one a rep said. In other words, the Polish studio still has to evaluate The Molasses Flood’s new proposals before making a final decision. The game is therefore still well under development, and the small team must convince with a new concept and new ideas.
