The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past Follows CD Projekt RED’s Value-First Expansion Approach

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past arrives in 2027 as the RPG’s first expansion since Blood and Wine in 2016. Its price hasn’t been announced, leaving players to judge its prospects through the studio’s earlier work rather than a confirmed offer. CD Projekt RED’s approach to the previous expansion pass offers a clue to its priorities: deliver substantial content at a fair price. That history sets an expectation, though it doesn’t guarantee the new release will meet it.

Marcin Momot, CD Projekt RED’s global community and social media director, told MP1st that the expansion pass reflected the ambition behind the base game. The Witcher 3 was the studio’s first open-world game and its first major test of bringing its storytelling approach to a large, open setting. That context matters: the expansions were presented as extensions of a project that had already asked the studio to prove it could sustain character-driven storytelling across a much broader world. The new expansion now faces a related test: whether it can add a distinct chapter without relying solely on the goodwill earned by its predecessors.

Momot said the pricing also acknowledged the trust players placed in the studio when they bought the pass. CD Projekt RED wanted the expansions to extend the game meaningfully and reward that support. “Above all, we wanted to provide quality at a good value,” he said, adding that the team set out to create “something that represented a real value for money.” That promise is easy to make and harder to measure. Players typically weigh an expansion’s price against the amount and quality of its story, the usefulness of its new activities, and whether it feels like a complete addition rather than a small extra. The studio’s past remarks therefore give a useful standard for comparison, but the announced price and final scope will matter more than the wording of the promise.

A high bar set by two expansions

The results gave that promise weight. Hearts of Stone built its story around Olgierd von Everec and the enigmatic Gaunter O’Dimm. Blood and Wine added the region of Toussaint, new activities and a story that earned its own lasting reputation. Together, they set a demanding standard for any new addition to Geralt’s world. Their significance lies in how clearly each offered its own identity: one centered on a tightly focused story, while the other widened the world with a new region and a broader range of things to do. That variety makes direct comparisons difficult, but it also gives players a reason to expect more than a familiar questline with a new title.

Songs of the Past will focus on Dandelion and bring his story with Geralt to a close. That focus could give the expansion a strong narrative frame, since Dandelion’s relationship with Geralt is already part of the game’s fabric. But a character-centered premise alone doesn’t establish the scale of the experience. The details announced so far don’t say how much new content the expansion will include or how its activities will compare with those in earlier additions. The numbers here are underwhelming as a measure of scope: a reveal and a wishlist count can show attention, but they can’t tell players what they’ll receive.

The expansion is planned for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, though CD Projekt RED hasn’t shared a specific release date. Following its Gamescom reveal, it reached 900,000 wishlists. That figure suggests substantial interest, but wishlists are a signal of intent, not a record of purchases or satisfaction. Here’s the thing: anticipation gives the studio an audience, while the finished expansion still has to earn that audience’s confidence.

What the new expansion needs to prove

Players who haven’t finished Blood and Wine may want to do so before the new expansion: CD Projekt RED says completing it first can lead to differences in Songs of the Past. That connection makes the earlier expansion more than optional background for some players; it may shape how the new story unfolds. (And this is the part most people overlook.) The order in which players approach the content could affect their experience, so anyone returning to the game may want to check what they’ve completed before starting the new chapter.

If you're working through the series now, finishing Blood and Wine first may give you a fuller sense of the continuity CD Projekt RED has described. That said, the studio hasn’t explained what those differences involve, so players shouldn’t assume they amount to a radically different story. A modest change in dialogue or context could still matter to fans, while a larger variation would carry different expectations. For now, the available description leaves that question open.

Songs of the Past has a recognizable character at its center, a planned 2027 release and a clear legacy to contend with. The studio’s past pricing and content choices set expectations, but the new expansion’s value will depend on what it delivers—and what it costs. This is more significant than it looks: a well-regarded expansion can make a return to a familiar game feel worthwhile, while a thin addition can make old goodwill do too much work. The release will need substance, clarity and a price that players can judge against both.