Shortly after having officially unveiled the third expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – dubbed Songs of the Past – CD Projekt RED has revealed through that it had originally intended to reveal the expansion during the Blood and Wine 10th Anniversary Stream on May 28th. However, a discovery made in its RED Launcher led to the studio deciding to announce the expansion earlier.
“We originally planned to make this big reveal during our REDstreams tomorrow,” wrote CD Projekt RED. “But let’s say we found something we didn’t yet expect on RED Launcher.”
While it didn’t go into more detail about what this RED Launcher discovery was, it is easy to assume that it might have been an accidental leak about the expansion, revealing it to players well before any official announcement had been made.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past is slated for release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2027. CD Projekt RED hasn’t yet revealed too many details about it, aside from the fact that it will once more feature series protagonist Geralt of Rivia setting off on a “new adventure”. Other aspects, like its setting, haven’t yet been confirmed.
Shortly after announcing the expansion, CD Projekt RED also announced that it was raising the hardware requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In a social media post, the developer said that this was being done to “ensure smooth performance and compatibility going forward.” The studio also confirmed that the open-world RPG will run exclusively on DirectX 12.
Songs of the Past was announced after several rumors had indicated that CD Projekt RED was working on an expansion alongside Fool’s Theory. However, at the time, one analyst believed that the company would have released the DLC by now. The analyst has also said that the DLC will be priced at $30, and that it will be a part of the company celebrating the 11th anniversary of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which was released on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 in 2015.
The analyst, Mateusz Chrzanowski of Noble Securities, also believed that the release of this expansion would kick off the proper marketing plans for The Witcher 4, which doesn’t yet have a release window.
Interestingly, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did quite a bit already to bring a satisfying end to Geralt’s overall story arc, especially with its Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine DLCs. With CD Projekt RED already having confirmed that The Witcher 4 will feature Ciri as its primary protagonist, it is likely that Songs of the Past might end up acting as a send-off to Geralt.
In the meantime, there have also been rumors indicating that the DLC’s story will largely take place around Velen, contrasting reports that it would instead take place in a new region, Zerrikania.
In the meantime, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. PC players can also enjoy the title on the go thanks to its excellent support for the Steam Deck.
