CD Projekt Red announces studio layoffs ahead of Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty's release

CD Projekt Red recently announced potential layoffs that might be happening in the studio in the coming few months. According to the studio's CEO, Adam Kicinski, they are currently "overstaffed," and as a means of redirecting focus on "more agile and effective" teams, there are going to be staff layoffs. The studio is projected to lay off roughly 10% of its staff.

The information regarding the layoffs comes at a rather interesting time, with Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077's highly anticipated story expansion, right around the corner. According to the "organizational update" message posted on the studios' official website, the layoffs are expected to be carried out in the next couple of months, which coincide with the expansion's release.

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CD Projekt Red plans to lay off roughly 10% of its staff in the upcoming months

In a recently published post on CD Projekt Red's official website, the Polish development studio's CEO, Adam Kicinski, mentioned the rationale behind the layoffs. The main reason mentioned by the CEO regarding the layoffs is the studio being overstaffed, which is indirectly hampering the effectiveness of several internal teams. Regarding the layoffs, Kicinski stated:

"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."

Kicinski also goes over the total expected layoffs that will be carried out in the coming months, depending on the CD Projekt Red's requirements.

"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."

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Kicinski also mentions the only positive side to this disheartening announcement.

"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.”

The layoffs by CD Projekt Red won't be in effect immediately they will be carried out throughout the rest of this year. However, it's still disheartening news for many who have been employed in the studio.

It remains to be seen whether this sudden string of layoffs will adversely affect CD Projekt Red's upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, when it releases on September 26, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.