CD Projekt's upcoming console port of the well-received PC title The Witcher could be in jeopardy. According to a series of news stories seen on GameBanshee, the developer is experiencing financial issues and as such the team working on The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf has suffered layoffs.

The developer was originally working on three games tied to The Witcher license. The Witcher 2 is now the only title currently in development.
Details are sketchy, but the following facts have been confirmed: after the release of The Witcher, CD Projekt Red took the financial obligation of starting 3 projects simultaneously, a console port of The Witcher, and two more titles based on The Witcher intellectual property, one of which was The Witcher 2.

As the financial crisis hit, the studio was affected as well, finding itself incapable of managing all three projects and forced to lay off a significant portion of its staff. The third Witcher IP project was cancelled, and its entire crew was let go or left of their own volition. A second round of layoffs followed as The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf was cancelled, including around two dozen people losing their jobs yesterday.
All efforts will hopefully see The Witcher 2 hit PC and consoles in the future.

Is it too late for console witch-hunting?



Bryn says: This is a shame. If it's truly the case that Rise of the White Wolf has been canned, then it's a loss for console folks who have not had the chance to play the original PC game.

I'm confident that CD Projekt can craft a great sequel, so let's keep our fingers crossed that the financial issues of late don't kill this game.