The Witcher 3 gameplay designers leave CD Projekt Red to join indie studio

Former CD Projekt Red developers Marek Ziemak and Maciej Szczesnik are no longer part of The Witcher team, after joining the Warsaw-based 11 Bit Studios, Szczesnik announced today.

Szczesnik will lead the development of a new game at the studio, following his role as gameplay designer on The Witcher franchise. Ziemak, who worked as gameplay producer at CD Projekt Red, has yet to announce his new role.

"I'll be responsible for the entire design of a game that took shape in my imagination," said Szczesnik in a prepared statement. "It's a really exciting feeling to create a new world from scratch, make its characters and rules and to know that I have this blank page to fill with my ideas and then bring them to life."

The indie collective at 11 Bit Studios are best known for their work on mobile games Anomaly 2 and Sleepwalker's Journey but will focus on the development of multiplatform releases as well.

"I've been watching the indie-game scene for quite some time and I love its creativity and freshness," said Ziemak.

The studio is expected to make an announcement in March. We've contacted CD Projekt Red for details on how this change in staff will affect the development of The Witcher franchise.

The Witcher 3 is slated to arrive this year on Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.