CD Projekt confirms that Project Sirius is back in development
by Danny Craig
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CD Projekt
Polish developer and publisher CD Projekt has confirmed that it has defined "a new framework" for the project after writing off expenses in March.
The details:
- CD Projekt announced in a new report that development on Project Sirius had resumed after it had written off 42.9 million PLN ($10 million USD) in expenses in March. The project's costs were originally written off based on an "evaluation of the scope and commercial potential of the original concept of Project Sirius," with the company claiming that it would "burden the company's financial results.”
- The Molasses Flood, based in Boston, will continue to develop the title, albeit with a "reformulated framework." The report provided no specific information about the refreshed concept. Still, the publisher confirmed that 21.5 million PLN that had been written off will now be reversed as the new framework is based on a "material part of the already developed elements of the game," suggesting that the concept has changed significantly. However, the company confirmed that approximately 2.7 million PLN would still be written off.
- The project was announced in 2022 as one of many in-development titles by CD Projekt and was described as a "single-player experience" with multiplayer gameplay. It was supposed to have co-op PvE gameplay with a class system and a non-linear story with some form of procedural generation, according to job listings. It's unclear how much the rebooted project has deviated from the original vision, but based on the partial reversal of the write-offs, it's still likely to be a multiplayer game in some way.
Other upcoming CD Projekt titles:
- During a March investor call, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński referred to "Project Polaris" as "The Witcher 4". Following the accidental "slip of the tongue," Radek Grabowski, CD Projekt's global PR director, made it clear that the company had not confirmed the Witcher 4 in any way, but that it was simply an "initial confirmation of a new saga.”
- For the first time in the company's history, CD Projekt Red will create an entirely new IP from the ground up. Early conceptual work began in 2021, and there is currently "ongoing work on the foundations of this world—laying the groundwork for a third separate product line in the future.”