The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past Release Date Confirmed

CD Projekt has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past will be revealed at gamescom 2026 during Opening Night Live. This third expansion for the acclaimed fantasy RPG is set to launch in 2027, arriving 12 years after the original game and 11 years after the beloved Blood and Wine expansion. The expansion is being co-developed with Fool's Theory, a studio composed of industry veterans who previously worked on The Witcher 3.

According to CD Projekt, Songs of the Past will help set the stage for the upcoming The Witcher 4. While it tells a standalone story featuring Geralt after the events of The Witcher 3, the expansion also serves as a prologue of sorts for The Witcher 4, as explained by joint CEO Michał Nowakowski. In a May investor call, Nowakowski addressed the expansion's positioning, its 2027 release date (later than initially expected), and whether the new Witcher trilogy would receive expansions like The Witcher 3.

"First and foremost, we really wanted to deliver a great experience to the fans, a really cool expansion that's going to make people happy that they can come back to The Witcher 3 setting," Nowakowski said. "Of course, indirectly, yes, it is a reminder [of the franchise for fans]. It is, in a way, a prologue, although it's not a prologue in a verbatim way of [being] a prologue for the actual The Witcher 4. Yes, you can look at it as it's a way to maintain certain chatter on The Witcher 3. All of those are side effects, additional side effects. The core thing for us, from our perspective, is really delivering a high-quality, fun experience to the existing fans of The Witcher."

Regarding the delayed release, Nowakowski stated: "We had a moment where our plans assumed that Songs of the Past would be released this year. We decided together with the development team, that the game will be launching in 2027, to be honest, to achieve the best possible result from the consumer standpoint, which in the end, frankly speaking, is the only ultimate thing that really matters."

During a livestream for The Witcher fans, CD Projekt dropped hints about the expansion's focus, teasing the importance of Geralt's new third sword—first glimpsed in artwork released for a spring festival. Geralt's bard companion Dandelion is also confirmed to appear. Senior community and social media manager Laura Beitzel said: "We won't give too much away right now because we want you to experience it as you play. But as a few eagle-eyed people have already seen over the past 24 hours, there are some hints waiting for you on a very important evening in Witcher lore, Belleteyn Night, in our Belleteyn celebration that we shared a few weeks ago. So... keep looking for clues."

This refers to a piece of artwork and a poem posted on social media in April, showing Geralt resting by a bonfire as Dandelion plays the lute while villagers dance. Notably, Geralt holds a mysterious new sword with an ornate curved crossguard—the same sword seen in Songs of the Past's reveal artwork. CD Projekt's Amelia Korzycka confirmed: "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."

Beitzel also discussed the expansion's size: "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. It's an expansion, let's make it clear." Additionally, the expansion will include more Gwent cards, and CD Projekt is still working on cross-platform mod support for The Witcher 3, set to launch at some point in the future.

CD Projekt has yet to show any gameplay of Songs of the Past since its announcement in May, so fans can expect a trailer and possibly gameplay at Opening Night Live on August 25 at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm UK / 8pm CEST. The Witcher 3 recently surpassed 65 million copies sold, while CD Projekt is also busy developing The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2.