CD Projekt has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past will be revealed at gamescom 2026 during Opening Night Live, giving the previously announced expansion its first firm showcase date. The full release remains set for 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Songs of the Past is the third expansion for The Witcher 3, arriving 12 years after the base game and 11 years after Blood and Wine, the last major story add-on. CD Projekt is co-developing it with Fool’s Theory, a studio the company describes as a team of “industry veterans” who worked on the original game, and which is also handling the ground-up Witcher remake.
What was actually announced this week?
Songs of the Past was announced back on 27 May 2026, and CD Projekt has now confirmed that a fuller look will land at gamescom 2026’s Opening Night Live.
What CD Projekt has stated so far is consistent with the original announcement: Songs of the Past returns players to Geralt of Rivia for a new, standalone story set after the events of The Witcher 3. An exact release date within 2027 has not been given, and detailed system requirements have not been formally published.
Notably, the confirmed platform list covers current-generation hardware only. That is a change from the original Witcher 3 expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, which were available on PS4 and Xbox One. Anyone still playing on last-gen consoles should expect to need newer hardware to access this one.
Is Songs of the Past really a prologue to The Witcher 4?
CD Projekt has framed the expansion as connected to its next Witcher saga, but the language is more cautious than the “prologue” shorthand suggests. Speaking to investors in May, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said the expansion is “in a way, a prologue,” while adding that “it’s not a prologue in a verbatim way of [being] a prologue for the actual The Witcher 4.”
His stated priority is fan service. “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. He described the franchise reminder and keeping “certain chatter on The Witcher 3” going as “side effects” rather than the core goal.
The prologue positioning comes from CD Projekt itself, and there is no independent confirmation yet of concrete narrative bridges to the next saga game, codenamed Polaris. What is a genuine reversal of expectations is the return to Geralt as the playable lead — the company had previously indicated the new saga would not necessarily continue his story. CD Projekt Red has separately said it hopes The Witcher 4 can win back players after the Cyberpunk 2077 launch, and Songs of the Past sits inside that wider push to re-invest in the Witcher IP.
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