One of The Witcher spin-offs that is being developed by Molasses Flood will reportedly feature a class-based system.
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
Back in October 2022, CD Projekt Red revealed that it was working on a multiplayer game set in The Witcher universe that was being developed by Molasses Flood.
The company announced on X, “Sirius is a codename for the game developed by Molasses Flood, set in The Witcher universe and created with support from CDPR. It will differ from our past productions, offering multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story.”
Sirius is a codename for the game developed by @molassesflood, set in The Witcher universe and created with support from CDPR. It will differ from our past productions, offering multiplayer gameplay on top of a single-player experience including a campaign with quests and a story pic.twitter.com/aoX7wlIfRO
— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) October 4, 2022
Furthermore, CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kicinski detailed, “The game will be set in The Witcher universe, but it differs from our past releases in that it targets a much broader audience.”
He added, “Sirius will provide both single-player and multiplayer gameplay.”
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
It was revealed back in March 2023 that the game was being re-evaluated by CFO Piotr Nielubowicz during one of the company’s earnings calls, “I’m aware that it’s not great to hear from a company that the project is being re-evaluated, but at the same time, in order to stay innovative we must experiment and be brave when trying new paths, and to stay in control and keep the right course, especially with a project that is new to us in terms of design, developed by a new studio in our family, we need to keep evaluating the situation as we move along.”
He added, “It’s better to cut costs early and even restart if needed, than to carry on. As a result of this approach, we experienced negative results on our other operating activity, due to the impairment related to Project Sirius, which we reported 10 days ago.”
Kicinski also shared during a Q&A portion of the earnings call that Sirius is “very different from the big productions we are known for. To stay competitive, we have to keep looking for new ways to extend our franchises. At the same time, we need to be ready to reevaluate our original concepts. Even if the development work is already underway. On the 20th of March, we announced that we want to create a new framework for Sirius. We also decided to establish an empowerment allowance on Sirius development expenditures. It was a tough decision to make. But we also believe it was the right one.”
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
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Now, as reported by Tech 4 Gamers, a new job description seeking a Senior Combat Designer for the game appears to indicate the game will feature a class-based system.
Specifically, under the position’s Responsibilities section it states, “Implement each character type’s combat behavior using techniques such as behavior trees, animation graphics, and blueprints.”
A screenshot of CD Projekt Red’s Senior Combat Designer job description for Molasses Flood
The description also notes that the Senior Combat Designer will work “to make our game’s combat fun, satisfying, and scalable from the early game to the late.”
It also details that the prospective candidate “will take on everything from the high-level — pitching enemy and weapon types — to the sub-second nitty-gritty — placing I-Frames, damage volumes, damage and hit reaction balancing, etc..”
A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), CD Projekt Red
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