Is The Witcher 3 Getting A New Expansion in 2026?

Do you know when stories stop being stories? As Andrzej Sapkowski wrote in The Witcher novel, The Time of Contempt, it’s the moment someone begins to believe in them. So, how strongly do you believe that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be getting a new expansion?

Let’s back up a bit. “New expansion?” you’re probably asking. It all started back in June 2025 – a time when hype levels were through the roof, and almost anything seemed possible. Polish games insider Borys Nieśpielak said that CD Projekt RED was working on new DLC for The Witcher 3. Consider for a moment that the last expansion for the title was in 2016, and the last time that CD Projekt RED added any new content was with the Complete Edition. And anyone who played that Netflix series tie-in quest can affirm that it’s…actually par for the course when compared to the developer’s other free DLC.

Of course, the months passed, and there was no announcement. Cyberpunk 2077 continued to prove a top seller for the company, and plans for The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 proceeded rather uneventfully. However, last month, Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski revealed that he was also expecting a new DLC for The Witcher 3. No beating around the bush about its scale either, as he estimated it would cost $30, release in May 2026, and – the real kicker – it would connect the title to The Witcher 4.

Now there’s a lot to unpack, but since Chrzanowski also believed that it would serve as the start for The Witcher 4’s marketing push, and that the latter would launch in late 2027, it’s not the most outrageous strategy. Still, there’s more than enough skepticism to go around, even when Nieśpielak reaffirmed to Eurogamer that the DLC is still on track.

But just when you think this case is closed, the insider brought up a rather curious statement by CD Projekt. It occurred during an earnings call following the group’s latest earnings report – the same one where it confirmed plans to release The Witcher 4, 5 and 6 in six years.

Chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said that the company’s earnings goal for 2023 to 2026 is two billion zloty, which translates to about $556.4 million. With only five quarters remaining, it still needs to earn a whopping 700 million zloty or roughly $197.4 million. Granted, sales of Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty would probably help, but instead, he said something rather curious.

“Given our current progress, there is a chance that new content hinted upon in recent calls and reports may see release in the coming year, having an impact on our results and increasing the likelihood of achieving the earnings condition for the first stage of the incentive program.”

Recent calls? “Reports”? Is this subtly hinting at those rumors that had circulated months prior? It’s hard to say, even more so because Nielubowicz didn’t outright say whether this new content would be coming to Cyberpunk 2077 or The Witcher 3. But there’s plenty of reason to assume it’s the latter.

First, the game’s “final” patch – the one that adds cross-platform mod support – was delayed to this year. The reasons could be innocent enough – after all, even the current-gen update required more time for polish. However, CD Projekt RED didn’t provide any further information – simply an apology and a promise to “share more details closer to the release.” Think back to that same current-gen update and remember how it offered more than just PS5 and Xbox Series X/S support.

Is it too far-fetched to assume that the company is launching a paid expansion alongside its “final” patch, and that this delay allows for both to line up just right? And before you assume that this “new content” is for Cyberpunk, Fool’s Theory, which is working on a remake of the first Witcher, is allegedly in charge of this DLC. CDPR has been working with Virtuos on updates to 2077, specifically for quality of life improvements and new features. Ironically, this could be one way to explain why The Witcher Remake is taking time – it’s because Fool’s Theory is also working on this DLC.

By now, however, it’s seemingly a given that this “new content” will launch in 2026 – the company’s own plans certainly indicate that. “When” is the real question, but as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and we may see our fair share in the coming months if it’s indeed for The Witcher 3.

There’s the other big question, though: If this DLC indeed connects The Witcher 3 and 4, how will it do so? Mild spoilers follow for those who haven’t achieved the best ending in the former…which involves – last chance to dip out – Ciri becoming a full-fledged Witcher, receiving the Zireael Silver Sword from Geralt to commemorate the occasion.

A journal entry left things fairly open-ended, simply stating, “Where did the witcher and his ward venture, you ask, and what became of them? That, dear reader, is another story.” On the one hand, it could be a new quest-chain that sees the duo properly hunting monsters together, with Ciri becoming playable (and maybe having a few new tricks over the base game).

Perhaps she’ll have to learn first-hand all the perils of being a Witcher – think something along the lines of Geralt’s lesson in choosing the lesser evil, which ultimately led to his reputation as the Butcher of Blaviken. This quest could even form the foundation for Ciri’s new fighting style, presenting scenarios where she may find it more reasonable to use something that accounts for her agility and range (leading to the use of the chain from The Witcher 4 cinematic trailer).

A more daring approach to this DLC could be to set it sometime after The Witcher 3 and focus solely on Ciri. After all, Geralt is retired – CD Projekt RED could look to honor that and focus on what led Ciri to the North. Which isn’t to say that all the other lessons leading to her becoming a more competent Witcher or discovering her own combat style won’t come into play. It just means that Geralt will have a lesser role. An intriguing gamble, especially since this would mean not only abandoning progress made by Witcher 3 players but having to build out a completely new scenario for Ciri, maybe even introducing some new areas.

It ultimately depends on how CD Projekt RED wants to connect the two games, if that is indeed the goal. Either way, with how beloved The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is, and how much bigger the audience has become over the years, a $30 DLC is practically a license to print money for the company. Remember: The base game sold 60 million copies as of May 2025. Even if only a sixth of that buys the DLC, it will be a monumental success (and that’s a conservative view, especially given the conversion rates for Cyberpunk).

As always, however, its existence is teetering on the edge of “too good to be true” and “so crazy that it could very well happen.” If this is indeed Geralt’s final hurrah, then we can’t think of a better way to go out than by passing the torch.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.