Struggling Witcher spinoff brings acclaimed Destiny 2 narrative veteran onboard as new lead writer

Project Sirius, the Witcher spinoff game that was announced in October 2022 and has struggled ever since, has a new lead writer: Former Bungie senior narrative designer and narrative lead Kwan Perng, who comes to the role after four years of helping to shape the post-launch world of Destiny 2.

Perng announced his new gig on LinkedIn a few weeks ago, but it fell under the radar until he posted an update over the weekend on X (via GamesRadar).

(Image credit: Kwan Perng (Twitter))

In credits on Mobygames, Perng is just one of many people lumped in as a collective "narrative" team in Destiny 2 expansions including Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, The Witch Queen, Lightfall, The Final Shape, and The Edge of Fate. His LinkedIn page, though, says specifically that he was the narrative lead on The Final Shape, which is notable: The Final Shape ended Destiny's long-running 'Light and Darkness' saga, and it went out on a very high note.

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"It's a big improvement from previous campaigns, which at their worst can feel like a meandering tour through destinations—spinning wheels to fill time ahead of the final confrontation," PC Gamer's Phil Savage wrote in his 92% review. "Here, you can see the castle you're progressing towards. The feeling of a journey—of the finality of your destination—gives some necessary stakes."

Kwan was one of 220 Bungie developers who were let go in the shocking layoffs imposed by the studio in July 2024, after which he spent several months as narrative and world lead at Last Epoch studio Eleventh Hour Games. His new role, helping head up a new Witcher game, is considerably higher-profile, but don't expect to be hearing too much about it anytime soon.

"It will be some time before I can talk about the project, but in the meantime I've been immersing myself in the dark and eclectic universe of The Witcher," Perng wrote. "It's humbling to get the opportunity to tell stories in this world and in the company of such talented developers."

It hasn't been the smoothest ride for Project Sirius: Over the five years since its existence was first hinted at, the project has been scrapped and rebooted, while developer Molasses Flood—which CD Projekt acquired in 2021—has ceased to exist as a distinct creative entity. Bringing on a new lead writer three years after the game was purportedly back on track makes me wonder if maybe some of those troubles have persisted, but the fact that CD Projekt refuses to give up on it even after all that makes me think it must be pretty confident in... well, whatever it is, or could be.

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