CD Projekt Red has announced that it is re-evaluating The Molasses Flood’s upcoming game about The Witcher, codenamed Sirius, and has filed an impairment charge as a result. An impairment charge is filed by a company to write off assets that have fallen in value or been completely lost. It is unclear what this means for the game, though CD Projekt Red may have restarted development.
Twitter user Game Over Thirty shared an announcement to CD Projekt Red investors, stating that all may not go smoothly with one of the many upcoming Witcher games. However, he has denied that the project has been scrapped entirely. Studio communication director Paweł Burza has told IGN that “our current focus is to ensure that the Sirius Project is aligned with the strategy of the CD PROJEKT Group.” “At this time, we are not providing information on the evaluation of the project or on the possible future frameworks of the project.”
Sirius was announced in October of last year along with three other new Witcher games. At that time it was only in the pre-production phase, so at best it was two or three years away, and it promised to bring The Witcher universe to an audience beyond fans of the role-playing game saga. The Molasses Flood, a studio owned by CD Projekt Red, has increased its bookings for Sirius. He would be one of the first developers outside of the main CD Projekt Red studios to create a Witcher game, along with Fool’s Theory, who are working on The Witcher Remake.
However, the company already has a history of scrapping non-CD Projekt Red Witcher games. A remake of The Witcher had already been planned by French studio Widescreen Games for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but was ultimately scrapped despite the millions of dollars invested. CD Projekt Red’s strategy for The Witcher series remains to be seen.