'It's the end of an era': Four years after saying the studio would keep its 'identity,' CD Projekt has fully absorbed The Molasses Flood, but it's still working on The Witcher spinoff Project Sirius
Less than four years after being acquired by CD Projekt, The Molasses Flood is no more—at least as a "separate legal entity." A message posted on the studio's website (via Eurogamer) says that as of April 1, The Molasses Flood has been fully merged with CD Projekt Red.
"As a result of the merger TMF, in its former legal state (of a separate legal entity) ceased its operations, while CDPR Inc. assumed the rights and obligations of TMF," the message states.
"The merger will not affect the availability or distribution of The Flame in The Flood and Drake Hollow videogames, which will continue to be published by CD PROJEKT Group; [for] information about the CD PROJEKT Group please visit https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/."
CD Projekt said when it acquired The Molasses Flood in October 2021 that the studio would not be merged into other teams but "will keep their current identity." But its work on Project Sirius, a Witcher spinoff game, ran into trouble not long after: The project eventually got back on track with an "updated direction," but layoffs followed shortly thereafter, and two years after that reboot we still know virtually nothing about the game.
CD Projekt actually announced its intention to absorb The Molasses Flood in its 2024 year-end presentation. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said the merger will "ensure even better alignment in the scope and direction" of Project Sirius, although he added that it would also result in "some changes in the project leadership."
The Molasses Flood co-founder Damian Isla, previously the design director on Project Sirius, called it "the end of an era" in a message on LinkedIn, in which he confirmed that he has "decided not to follow TMF on this transition."
Still, he seemed enthusiastic about the change, calling it "a GOOD AND HEALTHY thing for the studio [that] breaks down some organizational barriers, and better integrates the TMF team with the rest of the amazing CDPR org. Overall, it shows a very bright future for Project Sirius."
Despite Isla's upbeat words, it seems unlikely we'll be hearing anything concrete about Project Sirius anytime soon. CD Projekt said in its FY 2024 earnings report, released in March, that the game remains in "pre-production."