The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past: Full Gamescom 2026 Schedule and What We Know

August 24, 2026 8 Min Read

The Witcher 3 is not done yet. Twelve years after it first launched, CD Projekt Red is bringing Geralt of Rivia back for a full sized story expansion called Songs of the Past, and the first real look at it lands during Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026. I have replayed The Witcher 3 more times than I can count, and I did not expect to be writing about a brand new Geralt story in 2026. Yet here we are.

This piece covers what is actually confirmed, what CD Projekt Red and co-developer Fool’s Theory have said publicly, what remains rumor, and why this expansion matters for people who care about The Witcher 3, The Witcher 4, and where the whole saga goes next.

Table of Contents

What Songs of the Past actually is

Songs of the Past is the third major story expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, following Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. CD Projekt Red has said it is being built on the same scale as Blood and Wine, which is widely considered one of the best expansions ever made for an open world role playing game. The expansion puts players back in control of Geralt of Rivia in a standalone story set after the events of Blood and Wine, according to CD Projekt co CEO Michal Nowakowski, who has also described it as in a way a prologue for the franchise’s future, as reported by Notebookcheck.

The expansion is scheduled to release in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC through Steam. It will not be coming to PS4, Xbox One, or the original Switch. CD Projekt Red has confirmed the game will move to require current generation hardware and will run exclusively on DirectX 12, a decision the studio says is needed to keep performance and compatibility solid going forward, according to GamingBolt.

How the announcement happened

The reveal did not go exactly as planned. On May 27, 2026, the title of the expansion briefly appeared on the Polish PlayStation Store, and separately surfaced early inside CD Projekt Red’s own Red Launcher. The studio confirmed the project that same day rather than waiting for its scheduled REDstreams broadcast, posting on X that it had found something on the Red Launcher it did not expect, as covered by GamesRadar.

Notebookcheck also reported that CD Projekt S.A. filed an EUIPO trademark for Songs of the Past, trademark number 019371013, covering game software, merchandise, and online services, on the same day the leak happened, which in hindsight was a clear sign an announcement was close, according to Notebookcheck’s original report.

The Gamescom 2026 schedule, day by day

Here is exactly when to watch, based on CD Projekt Red’s own press release.

August 25: First new information revealed during Gamescom Opening Night Live, hosted by Geoff Keighley, at 11 am PT, 2 pm ET, 8 pm CEST.
August 26 to 28: Guided showcases at the CD Projekt Red business booth, B065 in Hall 4.2.
August 26 to 30: Showcases at the entertainment area booths, B030 and A031 in Hall 8.1.
August 26 to 30: Five days of REDstreams broadcasts from the Gamescom show floor in Cologne, marking the fifth anniversary of the REDstreams series, with gameplay walkthroughs, developer commentary, and interviews with CD Projekt Red and Fool’s Theory staff.

These dates come directly from CD Projekt Red’s official press center announcement and from Notebookcheck’s coverage of the REDstreams schedule. Gamescom itself runs from August 24 to 30 in Cologne, Germany.

If you only watch one thing, watch Opening Night Live on August 25. That is where CD Projekt Red has said new information will be shown first, before anything hits the show floor.

Also Read
Elder Scrolls 6 Sentinel: The Hidden Clues Pointing Toward Hammerfell

Why Fool’s Theory is a big deal here

Songs of the Past is co developed with Fool’s Theory, a Polish studio staffed partly by developers who previously worked on The Witcher 3 at CD Projekt Red. Fool’s Theory is also the studio handling the remake of the original The Witcher game, and the team has previously contributed work to Divinity Original Sin 2 and Silent Hill 2, as noted by Windows Central.

This matters more than it might sound. A studio with no history in the franchise could easily miss the tone that made The Witcher 3 work, the mix of dark humor, folk horror, and morally grey choices that never felt preachy. Fool’s Theory having former Witcher 3 developers on staff, plus current work on the original Witcher remake, means the team is already deep in this world’s rules, its bestiary, and its dialogue style. That is a real advantage over handing the project to an outside studio cold.

What made the original game’s world work, and why that matters now

Anyone who put real hours into The Witcher 3 knows the main quest was never the best part. I remember setting out to reach a fast travel sign and getting pulled three hours in a different direction because a notice board had a contract for a monster I had never fought before, or because a light in the distance turned out to be a whole side story about a drowned village. That kind of wandering is what people actually remember about the game, more than most of the main story beats.

The challenge for Songs of the Past is not making a bigger map. It is recreating that sense that anything on the horizon might be worth walking toward. Small settlements, strange notice boards, monster contracts, minor characters with their own short arcs, these are what gave the original game its texture. A new expansion needs the same density of small stories layered under the main plot, not just a longer main quest with a new coat of paint.

What the demo reportedly shows

According to early reporting, a private demo of Songs of the Past has already been shown to people connected with CD Projekt Red, and reactions have reportedly been positive, focused mostly on how good it feels to see Geralt back in action. Paweł Sasko, a former Witcher 3 quest designer who now directs the next Cyberpunk game, is among those said to have reacted well to what he saw. It is worth being clear that these reactions come from secondhand reporting rather than CD Projekt Red’s own statements, so treat them as industry chatter until the studio confirms anything on stage.

Why bringing Geralt back is tricky

Blood and Wine gave Geralt what most players consider a genuinely satisfying ending. He got a home in Toussaint, closure with the people around him, and a quiet finish to a very long, very hard road. That is exactly why a new Geralt story is a harder writing problem than it looks. The team cannot just drop him into random new danger without a reason that respects how his story already ended.

The timing lines up with something bigger too. The Witcher 4 is confirmed as the start of a new saga starring Ciri, not Geralt. That makes Songs of the Past feel like it is positioned as one last major chapter for Geralt before the series moves forward, possibly setting up political changes, new factions, or lore threads that carry into Ciri’s story. CD Projekt’s own co CEO calling it in a way a prologue for the franchise’s future supports that reading, though the studio has not confirmed a direct narrative link to The Witcher 4.

Setting: what is confirmed versus what is rumor

This is the part where it is important to separate fact from speculation, because a lot of coverage blurs the two.

Confirmed: the story is a standalone Geralt adventure set after Blood and Wine. Nothing about the specific region has been officially confirmed by CD Projekt Red as of this writing.

Rumor: Gaming Bolt reported that some rumors point to the story largely taking place around Velen, while other reports claim a new, previously unseen region called Zerrikania, a place mentioned in the Witcher books but never fully explored in the games, according to GamingBolt’s report. These two claims contradict each other, which is a strong sign that neither is confirmed. Treat both as rumor until CD Projekt Red shows a map or setting details on stage.

Price and release window rumors

Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski was cited as believing the expansion would be priced around thirty dollars, according to GamingBolt’s coverage of investor commentary. This is analyst speculation, not a CD Projekt Red statement, so it should not be treated as a confirmed price.

On the release date, Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese reported that CD Projekt Red confirmed Songs of the Past was originally intended to launch in 2026, before the studio pushed it to 2027, which matches earlier rumors about the timeline, according to Eurogamer’s report referenced on the Wikipedia entry for the expansion, which links directly to the original Eurogamer article. If that is accurate, giving the team an extra year to finish the expansion properly is probably the right call. Rushing a project like this just to hit an anniversary date tends to produce a worse final product, and CD Projekt Red has been burned by rushed launches before.

System requirements are changing

Alongside the announcement, CD Projekt Red said it will be raising The Witcher 3’s system requirements to keep performance and compatibility solid going forward, and confirmed the game is moving to run exclusively on DirectX 12, according to GamingBolt. If you are still running The Witcher 3 on older hardware or Windows 10, it is worth checking your specs against the game’s updated requirements before Songs of the Past launches, since Windows Central also reported the expansion drops support for Windows 10 and Xbox One entirely.

Also Read
GTA 6 Extended Look: When and How to Watch Rockstar’s Big Gameplay Reveal on August 27

Frequently asked questions about The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past

When does The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past come out?

Songs of the Past is scheduled to launch in 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. No exact release date has been confirmed yet.

Will Songs of the Past come to PS4, Xbox One, or the original Switch?

No. CD Projekt Red has confirmed the expansion will only run on current generation platforms, and The Witcher 3 itself is moving to require DirectX 12.

Who is developing Songs of the Past?

CD Projekt Red is developing it together with Fool’s Theory, a Polish studio that includes former Witcher 3 developers and is also working on the remake of the original Witcher game.

Is Songs of the Past connected to The Witcher 4?

Not officially confirmed as a direct link, but CD Projekt co CEO Michal Nowakowski has described it as in a way a prologue for the franchise’s future. The Witcher 4 begins a new saga starring Ciri.

How big is the expansion compared to Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine?

CD Projekt Red has said Songs of the Past is being built on a scale comparable to Blood and Wine, which was the larger of the two original expansions.

Where can I watch the Gamescom 2026 reveal?

The first look airs during Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, hosted by Geoff Keighley, followed by daily REDstreams broadcasts from August 26 through 30 on CD Projekt Red’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Sources

Tags: