CD Projekt RED announced a new third expansion for The Witcher 3 titled "Songs of the Past" on Wednesday [1].
The move marks a rare return to a legacy title, aiming to bring players back to the world of The Witcher through a massive content update years after the game's initial lifecycle [1, 4].
The expansion is scheduled for release in 2027 [2]. This puts the new content arrival between 11 [1] and 12 [2] years after the original game launched in 2015 [1, 2].
CD Projekt RED, the developer of The Witcher 3, said the announcement was released globally to surprise fans who had not seen major DLC since the previous expansions [1, 2]. The original game has maintained a massive footprint in the industry, having sold 60 million copies worldwide [2].
While the studio has not detailed the specific plot of "Songs of the Past," the expansion is intended to provide a significant amount of new content [1, 4]. The decision to expand a title from 2015 reflects a strategy to leverage the enduring popularity of the franchise's most successful entry [1, 4].
Development of the expansion continues as the studio prepares for the 2027 launch [2]. The project follows the trajectory of the game's previous DLCs, though it arrives nearly a decade after the release of Blood and Wine [4].
“The expansion is scheduled for release in 2027”
The announcement of a major expansion more than a decade after a game's launch is an unconventional move in the AAA gaming industry. By returning to The Witcher 3, CD Projekt RED is capitalizing on a massive existing install base of 60 million players to maintain brand engagement while other projects are in development.
