Publications appeared in the Russian media, according to which CD Projekt RED stopped cooperating with Saber Interactive. As a result of the gap, the latter stops working on The Witcher 3 version for current-generation consoles.
The iXBT portal was the first to report this.games. According to the publication, Polish developers refused to continue working with Saber Interactive due to its partial presence in Russia. Recall that one of the key offices of the company is located in St. Petersburg. He was responsible for porting The Witcher 3 to the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
More details about the current situation in the news GameMAG.ru . Referring to an anonymous source in Saber Interactive, the publication informs that the gap occurred in a “tough form“. CD Projekt RED required the outsourcing company to transfer all available developments on the project under development. As a result: the release of the project is likely to move from the autumn of 2022 for an indefinite period.
We appealed to the representatives of CD Projekt RED and Saber Interactive, but at the time of publication of the material, we had not received official confirmation from any of the parties of the current situation, which fits perfectly into the series of recent events. Earlier in March, the Polish company stopped selling all its products in Russia.
Officially, Saber Interactive is an American company that belongs to the Swedish Embracer Group holding. Saber has 21 affiliated studios, including two Ukrainian ones — 4A Games and Fractured Byte. However, the oldest and largest asset is indeed Russian, where, according to unofficial data, about 700 employees work.
If the news is confirmed, then Saber Interactive will face the need to at least relocate a significant part of the Russian staff, which is responsible, among other things, for the development of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, World War Z: Aftermath and the SnowRunner series.
It can also be a “call” for another large outsourcer with Russian roots — the company Sperasoft, one of the central offices of which is also located in St. Petersburg. The latter has been cooperating for many years with such important companies for the industry as Bioware, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games.