CD Projekt has announced plans to lay off nearly 10% of its workforce.
The Witcher and Cyberpunk developer called the round of layoffs, which impact around 100 staff, an “alignment of the scale and size of the team with the requirements of ongoing projects and the CD Projekt Group strategy”.
The layoffs affect those in development, publishing, and back-office teams, and are expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2024.
“The decision is related to the continuing transformation as part of which the CD Projekt Red studio has managed to - among others - incorporate agile methodologies, while reshaping development processes and optimizing working arrangements,” the company said in a statement.
“This change in approach, along with efforts to build more effective project teams, represents a continuation of an ongoing transformation which the Company regards as key to making top-quality games, published on schedule and developed without undue crunch.”
CD Projekt said the estimated cost of the layoffs, which includes severance payments, is 4.5 million PLN (approx $1.1m).
CD Projekt boss Adam Kiciński issued an accompanying statement, insisting the company is currently “overstaffed”.
“We’ve carefully assessed all teams in the company in terms of their expected contribution to the delivery of our strategy,” Kiciński said. “There’s no easy way to say this, but today we are overstaffed. We have talented people on board who are finishing their tasks and — based on current and expected project needs — we already know we don’t have other opportunities for them in the next year.
“The outcome is the studio parting ways with around 100 people, which is roughly 9% of the entire team. This 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.
“Finally, I would like to address affected CDPR team members reading this message. Although our paths will diverge professionally, I believe the relationships we have built can remain strong. I encourage you to stay connected and would like to thank you for being an invaluable part of our journey. Your impact will resonate within CD Projekt Red and we wish you nothing but success and fulfillment in the next chapter of your professional lives.”
CD Projekt will release the Cyberpunk expansion, Phantom Liberty, on September 26. It has a number of other projects in the works, including a remake of the first Witcher game, its first original IP (Project Hadar), a Cyberpunk sequel (Project Orion), the first game in a new trilogy set in The Witcher universe (Project Polaris), and a multiplayer Witcher game (Project Sirius).
This round of layoffs follows the May announcement that CD Projekt Red would lay off around 30 employees by the end of 2023 as development on Gwent: The Witcher Card Game came to an end.
And that announcement came after two other waves of layoffs. The Molasses Flood, which is owned by CD Projekt and currently developing the troubled Project Sirius Witcher game, saw 29 team members laid off earlier in May. CD Projekt Red also announced the closure of The Witcher: Monster Slayer in December last year, with layoffs at developer Spokko as a result.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
