In October of 2021, the CD Projekt group announced theacquisition of The Molasses Flood: an up-and-coming studio responsible for popular indie titles likeDrake HollowandThe Flame in the Flood. In the final paragraph of the accompanying press release, it was revealed that the newly acquired studio would be working independently on an “ambitious project” based on one of CD Projekt’s existing IPs. Naturally, this led to a flurry of speculation.
Given that the only notable IPs associated with the Polish powerhouse areThe WitcherandCyberpunk 2077, most assumed that the project in question must be connected with one of the two. Due to the former being the more popular franchise and already having an extended universe of sorts,The Witcherseemed to be the stronger candidate, and the studio’s recent job listings further back this up.
RELATED:CD Projekt Red Offers Updates on Witcher 4, Cyberpunk 2077 Expansion
The Molasses Flood is currently looking to hire a Multiplayer Designer to work on anUnreal Engine-built gamebased on a CD Projekt IP. The listing suggests that it will be a systems-heavy action game with a strong emphasis placed on multiplayer combat and procedural generation of some sort. Similar openings at the company point to the game having a leveling system and non-player enemies, as well as a mixture of both armed and unarmed combat.
This isn’t the only piece of evidence that points to a multiplayerWitchergame being in the works either. In a Q+A session late last year,CD Projekt’s president and joint CEO Adam Kiciński reconfirmed that the company is looking to bring multiplayer to both itsCyberpunk 2077andThe Witcherfranchises in the coming years. With a free multiplayer update for the former having begun development long before last year’s acquisition was confirmed, it seems pretty plausible that The Molasses Flood’s “ambitious project” could be the multiplayerWitcherexperience to which Kiciński was referring.
If this ends up being the case, the news will likely be welcomed by series fans, many of whom have discussed the possibility ofa multiplayerWitchergamein the past. Granted, some have questioned whether incorporating online multiplayer might somehow diluteThe Witcher’s tried and tested formula in a similar fashion toThe Elder Scrolls Online, but knowing thatThe Witcher 4is also in development should help to alleviate these concerns.
From the CD Projekt group’s perspective, the idea of bringing multiplayer to theWitcherfranchise via a standalone spin-off before implementing it into a mainline entry arguably makes a lot of sense too. Doing so would allow the company to figure out what exactly an online multiplayerWitchergame might look like without having to jeopardizethe integrity ofThe Witcher 4.
