It isn’t every day a game that’s around eleven years old gets news of a new expansion being added to it. It’s a testament to how much Geralt’s desperate search for Ciri across The Continent has withstood the test of time, with the Witcher’s swan song being one that continues to be hummed even today.
And while the announcement of Songs of the Past, a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has certainly made all our medallions hum with anticipation, we took a step back to think about what’s actually been revealed about it other than its name and a very cool-looking sword.
Well, we put everything we know about it together so you don’t have to. Let’s get cracking!
A Current-Gen Expansion?
Although it would be reasonable to expect that Songs of the Past is making its way to older consoles, considering that Wild Hunt and the two previous expansions were available for them, CD Projekt Red has announced that it’s available on the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
While that doesn’t automatically erase the probability of the expansion showing up on older platforms, we did find it to be an odd omission from the announcement. That, and the fact that Windows 10 support is being taken off the board, has us pondering if this one’s going to be current-gen exclusive. There’s also the fact that it will require SSDs instead of HDDs to improve load times and performance, and that it’s going to run exclusively on DirectX 12 going forward. It’s confirmed that you could revert back to older versions if you haven’t been able to current-gen just yet, though, so there’s that.
The studio has also been quick to stress that this one’s an expansion, not to be confused with DLC. That means that this one comes with an entirely new story, a new region, and potentially new twists to the gameplay loop instead of merely dropping free cosmetics or contracts, as it has done in the past. That’s a welcome distinction, as it means that there’s going to be a lot of things to like about it when it drops.
A “Proper Big” One
The distinction between an expansion and DLC becomes all the more relevant when you consider what CDPR’s own Michał Nowakowski has said about it. He basically said that it could come close to Heart and Stone in its scope, which is something that has us very excited, not just because Geralt’s time in that one was packed with activity, but because it brought so many familiar fan-favorite faces to the table.
We’re expecting a story that lets us glimpse a version of Geralt from his early days as a Witcher, and perhaps even tells us more about Yennefer and Ciri’s stories before the web of destiny brought the trio together for everything that they’ve faced down over the years. That’s good news, and our next entry on this list is going to tell you why.
A Brand New Tale To Behold
Although the expansion is clearly a trip to the past, it’s certainly going to be a tale we haven’t heard about before. That’s in line with CDPR’s own assertion that Songs of the Past is an expansion, and we’re sure the lot of you are familiar with how the studio does expansions. If, by some chance, you haven’t played Hearts of Stone, know that things get quite intense and nuanced, just like the base game.
Considering the expansion’s name, we think it could take us way back in time, considering how Geralt was more or less retired, and deservedly so. But where and when could it take us back to?
Geralt Is The Playable Protagonist
CDPR has confirmed that Geralt’s going to be the playable protagonist, and we’re always happy to return to the gruff, cynical anti-hero that he is. But his presence and role in the expansion have us wondering what awaits him this time around. Working off the theory that this one’s set in the past, we’re quite intrigued by which part of his life it could focus on.
Are we getting an insightful look into the weathered Witcher’s childhood before he was turned over to Vesemir’s care? Could we finally get to see his deal with Calanthe that bound Ciri’s destiny to his own, courtesy of the Law of Surprise? Does that mean we get to see Pavetta and her brave knight defy the Lion of Cintra’s wishes, with Geralt and Dandelion backing them up?
Speaking of Dandelion, it’s also possible that he could have a role to play in this one, accompanying Geralt on his travels as he always has in the past. He’s already in the artwork, serenading a pair of maidens as usual. If we were to guess, we’d say that Cintra is a great place for this one, considering how closely it’s tied to the story already on offer in Wild Hunt, and its ties to both Ciri and Geralt, and the fact that we know that Dandelion has accompanied Geralt to the Cintran court in the books.
A Fresh Yet Familiar Weapon
Officially released artwork for the expansion shows off a very cool-looking sword in Geralt’s hands, which is sure to come in handy when dealing with the monster behind him, which looks an awful lot like a Leshen. But its elvish design has prompted a lot of speculation about the expansion, possibly giving us a closer look at Elven culture, especially since Bellentine is quite relevant to the elves who call The Continent their home.
We can’t honestly say that we’re entirely sure that this might be the case, and all of this is speculation at this point, but given that CDPR has since confirmed that the sword plays a big role in the expansion’s story, its elven embellishments could be a major indicator as to where Songs of the Past could take us aside from Cintra. We’d guess that it could lead Geralt toward discovering Ciri’s true potential in what could be a solid way to set up her story in The Witcher 4, whenever that one makes it to our hands.
CDPR Isn’t Working Solo On This One
Songs of the Past is being developed in collaboration with Fool’s Theory, the studio that’s already working on a remake of the first Witcher title, which is good news when you consider CDPR has told us that Fool’s Theory includes a lot of industry veterans with experience working on The Wild Hunt.
During the company’s latest earnings call, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said the project is now in an advanced stage, with roughly 190 developers assigned to it. Most of that team comes from Fool’s Theory, which is leading day-to-day development, while CD Projekt RED remains involved on the creative side to ensure the expansion still feels authentic to The Witcher. CDPR hasn’t clarified exactly how many of its own internal developers are contributing to the expansion. What we do know, however, is how the studio’s broader workforce is currently distributed.
As of April 30, 2026, Project Orion, the next Cyberpunk game, has 163 developers attached to it. Project Sirius, The Molasses Flood’s multiplayer-focused Witcher spin-off, is being handled by 83 developers, while Project Hadar has slipped slightly from 26 developers to 24. Unsurprisingly, The Witcher 4 remains CD Projekt RED’s biggest priority by a wide margin. The project now has 513 developers working on it, up from 499 in February. Given how much of CDPR’s internal manpower is already tied up between The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk’s sequel, it makes sense that Fool’s Theory is carrying much of the expansion’s production load. Whether that has any knock-on effect on The Witcher Remake, however, is still unclear.
We think it’s a really good thing as it allows both studios to dive deep into what makes the franchise tick, a learning experience that could work wonders for the remake, which is an equally exciting event on the horizon for Geralt and his band of allies. It’s also probably a good time to mention that cross-platform mod support is still in development for Wild Hunt, which is sure to bring a whole lot of cool stuff to the table when it finally gets here.
A Matter Of Timing
There isn’t too much information on when Songs of the Past is scheduled to drop, other than a 2027 release window, and the promise of more news at Gamescom 2026 (which is still too far away for our tastes). That might be due to the announcement being leaked earlier than planned, thanks to a mix-up on the RED Launcher. Perhaps CDPR was trying to spare us a couple of agonizing months spent waiting for more information? 2027 marks twenty years of the franchise, and it does make sense for an expansion focused on the past to drop around then.
Either way, the cat’s out of the bag, but what does that release window mean for The Witcher 4? If we were to make an educated guess, we’d say that 2028 is looking more likely by the minute for the franchise’s upcoming Ciri-focused outing.
New PC Requirements
Keeping in line with the new and updated system requirements for the game, it only makes sense that the minimum specs you’re going to need to keep things running as smoothly as they can get a major bump up.
You’re going to need an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / Intel Core i5-8400 CPU, a GTX 1660 / RX 5500 XT 8GB GPU, 6 GB VRAM, 12 GB RAM, 70 GB SSD, and Windows 11 64-bit to be able to play the new and improved version, which we suspect is also going to help with mods as and when they’re added to the game. It’s good to know that Wild Hunt is getting so much long-term support from its makers, though.
And that’s it from us for this one. We can’t wait to learn more about Songs of the Past, although we’re going to have to be patient and let CDPR cook for now. But you can bet we’re going to be right here telling you about it all as soon as we learn more. Until then, we suggest a bit of meditation to pass the time.
