Navigating the Horizon: CD Projekt Reaffirms Commitment to Mysterious Spin-Offs ‘Sirius’ and ‘Hadar’

Polish video game giant CD Projekt SA is currently managing one of the most ambitious and complex development pipelines in the interactive entertainment industry. Following the critical and commercial redemption of Cyberpunk 2077 via its Phantom Liberty expansion and the major 2.0 update, the Warsaw-based company has pivoted toward a multi-project development model.

While flagship titles like Project Polaris (the next major installment in The Witcher franchise) and Project Orion (the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077) dominate headlines, the studio is also quietly nurturing two enigmatic projects: Project Sirius and Project Hadar.

During CD Projekt’s H1 earnings presentation, Vice President of Investor Relations Karolina Gnaś provided crucial updates on these long-gestating titles, reassuring stakeholders that both projects remain active, even if their respective release dates remain far on the horizon.

Main Facts: The Status of Sirius and Hadar

The latest disclosures from CD Projekt highlight distinct developmental paths and organizational adjustments for both Project Sirius and Project Hadar:

• Project Sirius (The Witcher Spin-off): Currently in the pre-production phase, this project is being developed with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer elements—a departure from CD Projekt’s traditional single-player RPG formula. Following a complete creative reboot and subsequent staff reductions at its primary studio, The Molasses Flood, the project is undergoing rigorous testing of different gameplay solutions and structural ideas.
• Project Hadar (New IP): This project represents CD Projekt’s first entirely homegrown intellectual property, independent of The Witcher or Cyberpunk universes. It remains in the early conceptual phase. However, the development team is expanding, with plans to grow from its current staff of over 30 developers to approximately 50 by the end of this year.
• Organizational Integration: The Boston-based studio, The Molasses Flood—acquired by CD Projekt in 2021—has been fully integrated into CD Projekt Red’s core organizational structure, ending its tenure as an semi-independent subsidiary.

Chronology: The Evolution of CD Projekt’s Parallel Pipeline

To understand the current state of Sirius and Hadar, it is necessary to trace their development timelines alongside CD Projekt’s broader corporate restructuring over the past several years.

[2021] CD Projekt acquires The Molasses Flood; Conceptual work begins on Project Hadar.
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[Late 2022] Codename "Sirius" officially revealed alongside "Hadar" in a major strategy update.
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[Early 2023] CD Projekt issues a 42.9 million PLN (~$10M USD) impairment charge; Sirius is rebooted.
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[Mid-2023] Layoffs hit The Molasses Flood as the project's scope is realigned.
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[2025] The Molasses Flood is fully absorbed into CDPR; Hadar team begins scaling to 50 developers.

2021: Acquisition and Conception

In October 2021, CD Projekt acquired the Boston-based indie studio The Molasses Flood, known for survival-adventure titles like The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. At the time, the studio was tasked with creating an ambitious, stylized game set within The Witcher universe. Simultaneously, early conceptual planning began for a completely new, internally generated IP under the codename Hadar.

Late 2022: The Grand Strategy Reveal

In October 2022, CD Projekt leadership outlined a massive, multi-year pipeline. They officially introduced the codenames Sirius (The Molasses Flood’s Witcher project) and Hadar (the new IP), alongside Polaris (The Witcher 4) and Orion (the Cyberpunk sequel). The strategy aimed to transition the company from sequential development to parallel production.

Early 2023: Structural Roadblocks and the Sirius Reboot

By March 2023, Project Sirius hit significant development hurdles. CD Projekt took a massive financial write-off, issuing an impairment charge of 42.9 million PLN (approximately $10 million USD) for costs incurred during the project’s early development. The company announced it was establishing a new framework for Sirius, effectively rebooting the project to better align with commercial expectations.

Mid-2023 to 2024: Layoffs and Integration

Following the reboot of Sirius, CD Projekt implemented layoffs at The Molasses Flood, letting go of roughly 21 employees to match the downscaled needs of the project’s new direction. By early 2025, the initial promise of keeping The Molasses Flood as an independent entity with its own identity came to a close, and the studio was fully integrated into the broader CD Projekt corporate structure.

Supporting Data: Team Allocations and Financial Context

CD Projekt’s transition to a multi-project studio is reflected in how its human resources are distributed across its global offices, which include Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Boston, and Vancouver.

While the flagship projects command the vast majority of the company’s workforce, Sirius and Hadar represent deliberate, slow-burn investments.

The allocation of just 30 to 50 developers to Hadar highlights its early phase. By comparison, Project Polaris features a massive team of over 400 developers, signaling where CD Projekt’s immediate commercial priorities lie.

Official Responses: Insights from Corporate Leadership

During the H1 investor call, Karolina Gnaś, Vice President of Investor Relations, addressed the challenges and methodologies shaping these secondary projects.

Regarding Project Sirius, Gnaś emphasized that the unique multiplayer elements of the game require a completely different developmental approach than CD Projekt’s traditional single-player titles:

"Pre-production is ongoing, and at this stage we are focused on testing different solutions and ideas we develop. This project is very different from our other projects because it’s focused on multiplayer. So there’s a lot of learning and testing in this particular one."

Addressing the recent layoffs and structural changes at The Molasses Flood, Gnaś reiterated that these decisions, while difficult, were necessary to align the studio’s workforce with the technical demands of the rebooted project.

When questioned about the slow progress of Project Hadar, which has remained in the conceptual phase since its inception in 2021, Gnaś explained that creating a universe from scratch is a highly deliberate process:

"We currently have over 30 people and expect to hire more, up to 50 developers by the end of this year. Right now the team is mostly focused on testing different approaches and ideas, and prototyping some gameplay elements."

Gnaś concluded her briefing on Hadar with a brief: "This is it," signaling that the company is comfortable keeping the project under wraps until foundational gameplay elements are locked in.

Implications: Strategic Challenges and the Shift in AAA Development

The ongoing development of Sirius and Hadar carries several key implications for CD Projekt and the broader video game industry.

1. The Difficulty of Multiplayer Diversification

Historically, CD Projekt has struggled to integrate multiplayer components into its game engine. Plans for a standalone Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer game were canceled following the parent game’s troubled launch in 2020.

The prolonged pre-production phase of Project Sirius suggests that the studio is taking a highly cautious approach this time, ensuring that the multiplayer infrastructure is robust and fun before committing to full-scale production.

2. The Move to Unreal Engine 5

A key factor underlying CD Projekt’s multi-project strategy is its transition away from the proprietary REDengine to Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.

While this engine shift is expected to streamline asset sharing and ease recruitment across Polaris, Orion, and Hadar, the initial setup and customization of the engine for CD Projekt’s specific open-world needs require significant time and training.

3. Mitigating the Risks of a New IP

Developing a brand-new IP like Hadar is one of the riskiest endeavors in the modern AAA gaming market, where budgets regularly exceed $100 million. By keeping the Hadar team small (under 50 people) during the conceptual phase, CD Projekt minimizes financial burn while giving creative leads the freedom to prototype and fail without massive consequences.

This cautious incubation period is designed to prevent the developmental bottlenecks that plagued Cyberpunk 2077 during its early, highly publicized pre-production years.

4. Rebuilding Trust with Shareholders and Consumers

Following the reputational damage of Cyberpunk 2077’s 2020 release, CD Projekt has adopted a policy of transparency with investors, while remaining guarded about showing gameplay too early to consumers.

The deliberate, unhurried timeline for Sirius and Hadar indicates that the company is no longer willing to rush projects to market to satisfy short-term financial quarters. Instead, they are leveraging the long-term profitability of their back catalog to fund a patient, multi-decade portfolio strategy.