The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launched way back in May 2015 and gamers were instantly hooked. This RPG juggernaut just got world building, exploration and narrative so right and although the combat was a little janky, our hearts were captured by one of the greatest games ever made. Geralt and his adventures set a new benchmark for story writing and RPGs in general. The final additional piece of content we got for the game was Blood & Wine, and luckily they're celebrating the 10th anniversary in style.
Thanks to REDstreams 10th anniversary livestream, we have now learned that there's still plenty of life left in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A brand-new expansion has just been announced for the game and is called The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past. This is not a mod or minor update for the game either. Blood & Wine was a 30–40 hour expansion and The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past aims to deliver something equally significant.
Created in partnership with Fool's Theory and set for release in 2027, The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past will once again see you take on the role of Geralt embarking on a brand-new adventure. If you're aching for more, there's a freebie for The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past that you can grab right now. During the livestream, some shreds of information were also teased by Laura Beitzel (CD Projekt RED's social media manager) during the livestream where she notably said the following:
Okay, so Songs of the Past will be aligned with what you're familiar with, Blood & Wine and what you've to experience and expect from us when we do our expansions. So, it's an expansion pack.
When the community and social media manager for CD Projekt RED tells fans that The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past will be what we've come to expect from their expansion, then it's time to get excited. Blood & Wine was also an expansion and arguably was large enough and great enough to be its own stand-alone game. Knowing that CD Projekt RED is committed to delivering similar, with this new expansion is incredibly exciting.
As far as the plot goes, we're very much in the dark aside from one key piece of information. Both the announcement picture and last month's Belleteyn tease show Geralt carrying a brand-new sword. During the livestream, Amelia Korzycka spoke briefly about this:
Why does Geralt have three swords? So yes, Geralt is holding a sword. Um, it is a very important sword for the story, and you will get to know it once the game is out.
As The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt fans will know, Geralt typically only carries two types of sword. One regular sword for dispatching human foes and one silver sword for dealing with magical creatures. With the addition of a third sword, it's almost certain that Geralt will be facing up against a new type of foe we've not encountered before.
Aside from adding The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past to your wishlist, you may also want to check the minimum specs for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as it's increasing to align with the new expansion. Whether playing on PC or console though, only time will tell if The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past can surpass the already high bar set by Blood & Wine. One thing is certain though, it's a timely addition to build hype for The Witcher 4.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 93/100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- May 19, 2015
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Engine
- REDengine 3
- Cross-Platform Play
- yes
- Cross Save
- yes
- Expansions
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
- Franchise
- The Witcher
