The Witcher 3 Gets a New Expansion 11 Years On — 'Songs of the Past' Premieres at Gamescom Opening Night Live

CD Projekt Red (CDPR) is preparing a brand-new expansion for its landmark open-world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past. The first in-engine footage premieres at Gamescom Opening Night Live (ONL) on August 25, 2026. Coming roughly 11 years after the 2015 original, it is the game's first new expansion in nearly a decade, and CDPR is clear that this is no small add-on: it is being built on the scale of the prior expansions, Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone.

• ▶Sources: CD PROJEKT RED Press Center — Songs of the Past at gamescom 2026 · Gematsu — Songs of the Past to premiere at Gamescom 2026

At a Glance

The Witcher 3 has remained a Steam mainstay for years after its 2015 launch. Songs of the Past adds a new chapter to that world. (Steam store art)

What Gets Shown — Gamescom ONL

CDPR will debut the first look at Songs of the Past during Geoff Keighley's Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25. Attendees on the show floor can also see a guided presentation at the CDPR booth. With this year's ONL packed with new games and sequels, how much presence Songs of the Past can carve out is one of the show's storylines.

Not a Small Add-On — Scale and Standing

CDPR has stressed that this is a full expansion, not a short bundle of side quests — one that stands beside the game's two major prior expansions.

Since the last official expansion was Blood and Wine in 2016, a new large-scale expansion nearly 11 years later is an unusual event in the series' history.

Why 2027 and Not 2026

CDPR originally weighed a 2026 release for Songs of the Past but pushed it to 2027 to deliver "the best possible result" for players. In other words, the Gamescom appearance is a reveal, not a launch — actual play waits until next year.

That decision reads against a backdrop of recent big releases stumbling on polish, and CDPR has publicly maintained a stance of not repeating the lessons of Cyberpunk 2077's rocky launch.

The Staying Power of a Steady Seller

Released in 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt swept Game of the Year awards at launch and has kept pulling in new players since — through sales, a next-gen upgrade, and the halo effect of the Netflix series. Its enduring, discount-friendly presence on storefronts makes a new expansion notable: it is a rare demonstration that a finished, single-player RPG — not a live-service title — can justify long-tail support more than a decade on.

Market and Community Reaction

Reaction since the announcement has split between anticipation and caution.

1. 1Anticipation — the prospect of continuing Geralt's (or a new protagonist's) story, at Blood and Wine scale, has been well received.
2. 2Caution — key details remain under wraps: protagonist, timeframe, and which engine (current REDengine vs. a move to Unreal).
3. 3Delay worries — with the release already slipped to 2027, some fans are wary of further slippage.

Much of the detail is unlikely to surface until the August 25 ONL reveal.

The GamePeak Take

Songs of the Past is one of the headline draws of Gamescom 2026. Once the August 25 ONL reveals specifics — protagonist, setting, and timing — we'll break it down in a follow-up.