The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has announced today that around 100 people will soon lose their jobs at the studio, as the company simply "[doesn't] have other opportunities for them in the next year".
The news was revealed in a lengthy statement from CEO Adam Kiciński a few hours ago:
"We’ve carefully assessed all teams in the company in terms of their expected contribution to the delivery of our strategy. 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."
Kiciński also explained that CD Projekt Red is currently in the process of "several deep transformations which we consider key to making quality games, on time and without crunch", and this has facilitated the need to "refine the shape of our teams".
The news happens to come at a very busy time for the company right now, with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and new Witcher titles in the works, along with a brand new IP called "Project Hadar".