Geralt returns: CD Projekt Red announces new expansion for The Witcher 3
More than a decade after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's release, CD Projekt Red and studio Fool's Theory will launch a new expansion, Songs of the Past, next year, alongside a free remaster of the original game.
CD Projekt Red surprised players this summer by announcing a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, titled Songs of the Past, due for release next year. It will arrive alongside a full remaster of the original game, which will be free for anyone who purchased it back in 2015. The studio is also developing a sequel, The Witcher 4, though that isn't expected before 2028.
Much of the expansion's development has been handled by Fool's Theory, a studio founded by CD Projekt Red veterans. According to Marcin Blacha, VP story director at CD Projekt Red, the story had sat in a drawer for years while the studio focused on Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 4. Since The Witcher 4 will take considerable time to complete, a gap opened in the release calendar for Songs of the Past.
Why Geralt is coming back
After the 2016 expansion Blood and Wine, Geralt's story seemed to reach a natural conclusion, with the witcher retiring to his vineyard estate in Toussaint. Blacha says the team considered this carefully, but found a way forward: Geralt's old friend, the bard Dandelion, pulls him out of retirement to help in his homeland of Letten — a seemingly idyllic land of bountiful harvests and rowdy festivals that hides sinister secrets.
The studio has also dismissed rumours that the expansion serves as a prequel to The Witcher 4. The story remains centred on Geralt rather than Ciri, the protagonist of the upcoming fourth game. Voice actors Doug Cockle and John Schwab return as Geralt and Dandelion respectively.
The expansion also brings gameplay changes, including enhanced combat and skill trees, a new chain weapon to complement Geralt's steel and silver swords, and new DNA-modifying mutagens that alter his biology and supernatural abilities.
