Holy shit! CD Projekt Red have officially announced ‘Songs of the Past’. A New Witcher 3 Expansion Arriving 12 Years After Launch!
In a move that challenges standard industry lifecycles, CD Projekt Red has officially announced a third major expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Titled Songs of the Past, the downloadable content (DLC) is scheduled to launch in 2027, marking an astonishing 12-year gap since the baseline game redefined the open-world RPG landscape in 2015.
For a medium that often treats decade-old titles as museum pieces, Songs of the Past represents a rare narrative and technical bridge. The expansion will return players to the worn boots of Geralt of Rivia for a brand-new adventure. Reportedly serving as the definitive connective tissue between the events of The Wild Hunt and the highly anticipated The Witcher 4.
A Collaborative Return to the Continent
While the announcement might surprise casual observers, rumours of a late-stage DLC had been circulating within the community for a while now. CD Projekt Red confirmed that development is being handled as a joint venture with Fool’s Theory, a Polish studio consisting of industry veterans (many of whom worked on the original Witcher 3 release).
Fool’s Theory is a natural fit for the franchise’s legacy, as the studio is also currently spearheading the ground-up remake of the original The Witcher (2007). Their involvement suggests Songs of the Past will uniquely respect the series’ deep-rooted history while implementing modern design sensibilities.
“We’re currently co-developing the expansion with Fool’s Theory, and we’ll share more in late summer, so stay tuned!”
Leaving the Past Gen Behind
While The Witcher 3 originally built its multi-million-copy empire on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era. Songs of the Past is strictly looking forward. The expansion will launch exclusively on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
This generational shift is also triggering an aggressive overhaul of the game’s minimum PC requirements. To ensure compatibility with modern architecture, CDPR is officially dropping support for Windows 10 and mechanical hard drives (HDDs).
Moving forward, the game will require a minimum of Windows 11 and an SSD, relying entirely on DirectX 12 to handle the updated technical load.
Why the Late Revival Matters
Historically, major narrative expansions like Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine arrived within 18 months of a game’s launch. Bringing a massive, story-driven expansion to a 12-year-old title highlights a broader shift in the gaming ecosystem. Rather than abandoning beloved intellectual properties while waiting through increasingly long development cycles for sequels, studios are recognising the enduring artistic and commercial value of long-term software support.
Songs of the Past
This is massive news. Not even just for fans of the Witcher 3, but for fans of gaming. CD Projekt Red are beloved (even with that misstep of a launch with Cyberpunk 2077), and seeing them commit resource to extending the life of the game, and tie-into the next release, is a watershed moment.
Better still, The Witcher 3 is one of our favourite all-time games, and after several fresh-starts, there are no more excuses to getting the current playthrough done, along with the original DLC’s. Not only will it get us primed for Songs of the Past, but it’s going to build-up the hype even more for The Witcher 4.
Presumably seeing how Ciri becomes a Witcher herself, and how that works with all the possible endings in the original game. It’s going to be a great time to get back into the incredible world of The Witcher.
The Witcher 3
With over 60 million copies sold, The Witcher 3’s audience remains massive. Songs of the Past offers CD Projekt Red an opportunity to prime its player base for the future of the franchise, using a familiar canvas to paint the next chapter.
More specific plot details, gameplay features, and a narrower release window are expected to be unveiled in late Summer.
