The director of CD Projekt SA’s Witcher 3, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, has resigned after facing workplace bullying allegations, which he denies.
Polish publisher, CD Projekt SA, has been conducting a months-long investigation into accusations of ‘mobbing’ (a Polish term for office bullying) against the game director, Tomaszkiewicz, according to an email to CD Projekt staff reviewed by Bloomberg. In the message, Tomaszkiewicz wrote that he was found innocent by a commission that had been formed to look into these allegations.
“Nonetheless, a lot of people are feeling fear, stress, or discomfort when working with me,” he wrote. He apologized to staff “for all the bad blood I have caused.”
Tomaszkiewicz’s work on The Witcher 3, which is CD Projekt’s most successful game, inspired the creation of a popular Netflix series, both based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s novel, and helped turn the publisher into the country’s most valuable company. Tomaszkiewicz is also listed as second director and head of the production in the credits for Cyberpunk 2077.
His departure is a clear sign of more turbulence at CD Projekt, which, since the December release of Cyberpunk, has been embroiled in controversy. Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most highly anticipated role-playing games of the year, but it turned out to be so full of glitches and that led to Sony Group Corp. pulling it from the PlayStation Store. The negative reception wiped out CD Projekt’s 2020 share gains and took them to a two-year low.
In the company’s next game in the Witcher series, Tomaszkiewicz was expected to play a significant role. When reached for comment, Tomaszkiewicz confirmed his departure and said he was “sad, a bit disappointed and resigned.” A representative for CD Projekt declined to comment.
In the email to employees, Tomaszkiewicz said the decision was agreed upon with the company’s board. “I am going to continue working on myself,” he wrote. “Changing behavior is a long and arduous process, but I’m not giving up, and I hope to change.”
