CD Projekt Red is treating The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt like a live flagship again, teasing Songs of the Past as a full expansion for a game that is now 11 years old.
The expansion is planned for 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and CDPR is signaling that this is not a small add-on, according to Notebookcheck. The studio has not announced pricing, an exact release date, or support for older consoles.
CDPR Frames Songs of the Past as an Expansion, Not a Small DLC Drop
The clearest signal came from Paweł Sasko, Associate Game Director at CDPR, who resurfaced an older Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty promo clip featuring Idris Elba. The point was blunt: CDPR wants fans to read “expansion” as a scale promise.
“Just to be clear, it’s not a DLC, it’s an expansion. You know why? Because we do expansions, big, massive, monster!”
That quote originally referred to Phantom Liberty, which Notebookcheck describes as a major Cyberpunk 2077 story arc with over 20 hours of content, new missions, a newly opened area, and more. Sasko’s use of the clip does not confirm an identical runtime for Songs of the Past, but it frames expectations around CDPR’s larger expansion model.
CDPR community staff have made the same distinction elsewhere. As reported by IGN, senior community and social media manager Laura Beitzel said: “Songs of the Past will be aligned with what you're familiar with in Blood and Wine, and what you've come to experience and expect from us when we do our expansions.”
That is the key takeaway. CDPR is not merely adding a cosmetic pack or a side quest. It is telling players to expect something closer to the studio’s historical expansion cadence.
The Witcher 3 Gets a Current-Gen Extension Before The Witcher 4
Songs of the Past will arrive more than a decade after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt first launched and after Blood and Wine, the game’s second expansion, released in 2016. IGN also reported that CDPR’s latest financial results put The Witcher 3 at 65 million copies sold.
That installed base gives CDPR a rare opening. A new expansion can pull lapsed players back into Geralt’s world while putting fresh attention on the franchise before The Witcher 4, which still has no release date in the supplied source material.
CDPR is also preparing a visual update to modernize the decade-old game ahead of the expansion’s release, according to Notebookcheck. That matters because Songs of the Past is skipping last-generation platforms in the confirmed list so far, with only PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC named.
The studio has also said it is still working on cross-platform mod support for The Witcher 3, IGN reported. It has not tied that feature directly to the expansion’s launch timing.
For players tracking the wider gaming hardware and platform cycle, MLXIO has also covered adjacent releases such as 8BitDo’s $150 Xbox controller preorder window and Ugreen’s Honkai: Star Rail accessory push. CDPR’s move is different: it is trying to extend a mature single-player RPG with new narrative content, not sell a new device or licensed accessory.
A Sword, Belleteyn Night, and the Ciri Bridge Theory
CDPR has not laid out the full story premise for Songs of the Past. The strongest official hints point to a narrative link between Geralt of Rivia’s story in The Witcher 3 and Ciri’s role in The Witcher 4.
IGN reported that CDPR pointed fans back to a Belleteyn Night celebration image and poem shared earlier. Beitzel said there were “some hints waiting for you” there and told fans to “keep looking for clues.”
The most discussed clue is the sword in Geralt’s hand. CDPR’s Amelia Korzycka said:
“So yes, Geralt is holding a sword. It is a very important sword for the story and you will get to know it when the game comes out.”
Notebookcheck notes that fans have speculated the sword resembles Zireael, Ciri’s sword, or something close to it. That has fed the “passing the torch” reading, but CDPR has not confirmed that interpretation.
The studio has confirmed that players will again take on the role of Geralt, according to IGN. It has not confirmed when the expansion takes place, how it fits with The Witcher 3’s endings, whether it adds a new region, or which characters return.
Expansion Scale Is the Promise — Feature Details Are Still Missing
CDPR’s messaging creates a high bar because The Witcher 3 already has two major expansion benchmarks: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. The supplied sources focus especially on Blood and Wine as the reference point for CDPR’s expansion expectations.
The comparison does not mean Songs of the Past will match Blood and Wine feature-for-feature. CDPR has not said whether the expansion includes a new map, new systems, new monsters, or a defined hour count.
What is confirmed is narrower:
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Title | The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past |
| Platforms | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X |
| Release timing | 2027 / next year |
| Playable lead | Geralt, per IGN |
| Expansion scale | Positioned as a full expansion, not small DLC |
| Pricing | Not announced |
| Exact release date | Not announced |
| Older-gen support | Not confirmed |
| Story specifics | Teased, not detailed |
The only additional content detail from IGN is that more Gwent cards are planned. For a reveal this early, CDPR is leaving most of the practical questions unanswered.
Release Window, Pricing, and Compatibility Now Carry the Story
The next meaningful update will be less about terminology and more about execution. Players will be watching for gameplay footage, a tighter release window, pricing, save compatibility, PC mod implications, and performance targets on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The biggest unresolved issue is scope. CDPR has invoked Phantom Liberty and Blood and Wine to set expectations, but it has not yet given the feature list that would prove Songs of the Past belongs in that class.
For now, the teaser works as an early signal: The Witcher 3 is getting a substantial current-gen return, and CDPR wants fans to treat it as part of the road toward The Witcher 4. Whether Songs of the Past lands as a true legacy expansion or a smaller bridge chapter will depend on the details CDPR has not shown yet.
Key Takeaways
- CDPR is reviving The Witcher 3 as a major platform more than a decade after launch.
- The studio is signaling that Songs of the Past is intended to be a full-scale expansion, not a minor DLC pack.
- Players still lack key details including pricing, an exact release date, and older-console support.
