CD Projekt Red’s Shifting Horizon: An In-Depth Look at the Status of Codewords ‘Sirius’ and ‘Hadar’

Executive Overview

In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern video game development, few studios command as much industry-wide scrutiny, public anticipation, and financial interest as CD Projekt. Best known for shaping the modern role-playing game genre through critically acclaimed masterpieces like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the redemption arc of Cyberpunk 2077, the Polish developer is currently operating at a scale never before seen in its history.

As revealed during the company’s recent H1 investor earnings call, CD Projekt is juggling an unprecedented slate of upcoming titles. These include The Witcher 4 (the kickoff of a brand-new trilogy), a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 (currently designated Cyberpunk 2), a comprehensive remake of the original 2007 Witcher title, and an assortment of expansions, remasters, and unannounced initiatives.

Yet, buried beneath the headline-grabbing announcements of its tentpole franchises are two long-term, highly enigmatic projects known only by their internal codenames: Sirius and Hadar.

While these titles have existed in the corporate ether for years, their slow development cycles and low profile have left fans and stakeholders wondering about their ultimate viability. During the investor briefing, Karolina Gnaś, CD Projekt’s Vice President of Investor Relations, provided vital updates confirming that both projects remain active. However, her statements also served as a sobering reminder that neither game will materialize anytime soon. Sirius, a multiplayer-focused spin-off set within The Witcher universe, and Hadar, a completely original, non-franchise open-world intellectual property, are moving forward at a deliberate pace.

This deep dive examines the turbulent history, current structural changes, and long-term trajectory of CD Projekt’s most mysterious pipeline projects.

Detailed Chronology: The Long and Winding Road of Sirius and Hadar

To understand where Sirius and Hadar stand today, one must retrace the complicated timelines of their development. Both projects were conceived during a transitional period for CD Projekt, following the tumultuous, bug-riddled launch of Cyberpunk 2077 in late 2020. In the wake of that crisis, the studio reassessed its operational philosophy, shifting away from sequential, single-project pipelines toward a multi-project parallel development model supported by strategic studio acquisitions.

The Evolution of Project Sirius

Project Sirius first entered the public consciousness in 2021 when CD Projekt announced the acquisition of Boston-based studio The Molasses Flood, best known for atmospheric survival titles like The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. The acquisition was framed as a strategic move to bring seasoned external talent into the CD Projekt fold to work on an ambitious, new video game.

It was later revealed that Sirius would be a major spin-off set in The Witcher universe. Unlike the mainline single-player entries that follow the solitary exploits of monster slayers like Geralt of Rivia, Sirius was designed to break new ground by heavily emphasizing multiplayer components and a broader demographic reach.

However, the road to realization has been far from smooth. In March 2023, CD Projekt shocked industry watchers by placing Sirius under strategic review, halting its momentum and prompting a full-scale creative reboot. The company admitted that the initial direction of the project was no longer aligned with its overarching creative vision. This pivot resulted in significant financial write-downs and a reorganization of the development team.

The turbulence continued into 2025. In a move that signaled the end of an era for The Molasses Flood, CD Projekt fully absorbed the independent studio, dissolving its autonomous identity after four years of promising that the developer would retain its distinct cultural footprint. Despite this structural integration, the project survived the corporate consolidation, albeit with a drastically altered operational footprint.

The Genesis of Project Hadar

If Sirius has suffered from public growing pains, Project Hadar has remained an enigma wrapped in corporate silence. Announced alongside the studio’s long-term strategic roadmap in late 2022, Hadar represents a major milestone for CD Projekt: the creation of an entirely new intellectual property from scratch.

Unlike The Witcher or Cyberpunk, which were adapted from Andrzej Sapkowski’s literary works and Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPGs respectively, Hadar is being built entirely in-house. While details remain scarce, executive leadership has confirmed that it will adhere to CD Projekt’s signature narrative-heavy DNA—specifically promising an emotional, player-driven open-world experience comparable in depth and tone to The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Yet, Hadar’s developmental timeline has been glacially slow. Conceived around 2021, the project has spent the entirety of its life cycle languishing in the concept and pre-production phases. For years, executive updates regarding Hadar have been virtually nonexistent, leading many industry analysts to question whether the project was silently shelved in favor of safer, brand-recognized bets like The Witcher 4.

Supporting Context & Metrics: Where Do the Projects Stand Today?

During the recent H1 investor call, CD Projekt executives pulled back the curtain—ever so slightly—on the numerical realities and structural frameworks governing Sirius and Hadar. The metrics provided paint a vivid picture of two projects operating at very different stages of conceptualization and resource allocation.

The State of Sirius: Prototyping and Team Rationalization

Project Sirius is currently in pre-production, though it occupies a fundamentally different operational space than CD Projekt’s single-player endeavors. Karolina Gnaś emphasized that the team’s current phase is defined by rigorous trial and error.

"Pre-production is ongoing, and at this stage we are focused on testing different solutions and ideas we develop," Gnaś explained during the briefing. "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."

This experimental nature helps contextualize the aggressive staffing adjustments that have plagued the project. Earlier development cycles saw headcount reductions exceeding 20 percent of the Sirius team. According to corporate communications, these cuts were not necessarily indicative of a failing project, but rather a necessary mechanism to match "the current needs of the project" as it transitioned away from its failed initial direction toward its rebooted, streamlined framework.

By scaling down the team during the messy R&D phase, CD Projekt sought to mitigate financial bloat while The Molasses Flood—now fully integrated into the CD Projekt infrastructure—tries to nail down a functional multiplayer loop within a fantasy RPG setting.

The State of Hadar: Scaling Up From Scratch

While Sirius is wrestling with the complexities of multiplayer integration, Hadar is facing a different hurdle: building a world from absolute zero. Despite being in conceptual incubation since 2021, Gnaś confirmed that Hadar remains firmly rooted in the concept phase.

However, there are concrete signs of life and modest expansion. At present, the Hadar core team comprises a modest cohort of just over 30 developers. CD Projekt has signaled an aggressive recruitment push to bolster these ranks, aiming to scale the team up to approximately 50 developers by the close of the calendar year.

"Right now the team is mostly focused on testing different approaches and ideas, and prototyping some gameplay elements," Gnaś stated, capping her remarks with a blunt summation of the project’s current reality: "This is it."

This deliberate, slow-growth approach mirrors CD Projekt’s post-2020 philosophy of avoiding premature crunch and hyper-expansion before a game’s foundational pillars are securely established. By keeping Hadar lean during its formative years, the studio hopes to avoid the architectural missteps that hindered early production on both Cyberpunk 2077 and the initial iteration of Sirius.

Official Statements and Industry Implications

The transparency—or lack thereof—offered by CD Projekt regarding Sirius and Hadar reflects a broader maturation within the Polish studio. Following the public fallout of Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch, executive leadership has consistently pledged to adopt a more measured, transparent approach to communication with investors and consumers alike.

The decision to explicitly outline the struggles of Sirius—including the restructuring of The Molasses Flood and the downsizing of development teams—demonstrates an internal willingness to course-correct early rather than trying to force a broken product across the finish line. Multiplayer development has historically been a weak point for CD Projekt, a studio traditionally structured entirely around bespoke, single-player narrative experiences. Forcing a single-player powerhouse to pivot toward online infrastructure, systemic loops, and live-service or cooperative elements is a monumental undertaking. The steep learning curve referenced by Gnaś underscores why Sirius has required a ground-up reboot and years of iterative prototyping.

Conversely, Hadar represents the studio’s desire to future-proof its creative portfolio. Relying solely on The Witcher and Cyberpunk carries inherent long-term financial and artistic risks. Creating a third pillar—an entirely proprietary intellectual property—allows CD Projekt to flex its creative muscles without the narrative constraints of established lore. Yet, the fact that a project conceptualized in 2021 remains confined to a 30-to-50-person concept team nearly half a decade later proves that Hadar is a very long-term bet.

Future Outlook: Managing Expectations for the 2030s

For the average gamer and consumer, the immediate takeaway from CD Projekt’s latest disclosures is simple: do not hold your breath.

With The Witcher 4 currently serving as the studio’s primary engine of development, followed closely by the pre-production pipeline for Cyberpunk 2 and the ambitious remakes and expansions currently underway, CD Projekt’s plate is overflowing. Sirius and Hadar occupy the periphery of the studio’s master plan.

While hardcore RPG enthusiasts may feel a twinge of curiosity regarding Hadar’s mysterious, emotionally driven open world, and multiplayer fans may keep a cautious eye on Sirius’s evolution, neither title poses an immediate threat to the gaming calendar. Given the historical cadence of CD Projekt’s development cycles—where pre-production easily bleeds into multi-year production phases—speculating on a release window for either game before the early-to-mid 2030s borders on pure fantasy.

Ultimately, CD Projekt’s patient, calculated stewardship of Sirius and Hadar suggests a studio that has learned hard lessons from its past. By allowing these conceptual projects to incubate slowly, experiment freely, and scale only when ready, the developer is insulating itself against the perils of premature hype. Whether these mysterious endeavors will eventually blossom into industry-defining masterworks or quietly fade into development hell remains to be seen; for now, they stand as distant beacons on CD Projekt’s shifting, hyper-ambitious horizon.