CD Projekt Red saved its biggest card for last at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026. The show closed with the world premiere of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Songs of the Past, a full expansion that pulls Geralt of Rivia back into a story he was supposed to be done with years ago.
The reveal came with a trailer, a new region, a new weapon and a lot more context than a typical announcement. CD Projekt Red also used the moment to confirm a free remaster of the base game, arriving well before the expansion itself.
What Songs of the Past Is
The trailer sends Geralt into Letten, a region that has not appeared in The Witcher 3 before. Miles Tost, Level Design Lead at CD Projekt Red, joined the ONL broadcast afterward to walk through what the team is building.
According to Tost, the idea of telling one more Geralt story had been floating around the studio for a while, but the team's other commitments kept it on the shelf. That changed once Fool's Theory came on board. The studio brought in a group of Witcher 3 veterans, including Tost's own mentor, Peter Jennings, and that gave CD Projekt Red the room to finally build the story it had wanted to make.
Tost described Songs of the Past as Geralt's last adventure before the series hands the torch to Ciri. That framing makes this less of a bonus expansion and more of a send-off for the character who has carried The Witcher games since the beginning.
A Weapon With a History
One detail in the trailer stood out immediately: a chain, used by Geralt as a new weapon. Tost confirmed it is new to Songs of the Past, but it is not new to the series. He pointed out that sharp-eyed fans might recognize it from the opening of the very first Witcher game.
Tost said CD Projekt Red plans to go deeper on the weapon later in Gamescom, pointing fans toward the studio's booth and its REDstreams for more. For now, the trailer only shows it in passing, but the link back to the original 2007 game gives Geralt's final story a tie to where his video game journey started.
Letten's Secret
Tost described Letten as its own distinct region, built with the quests, monsters and exploration players expect from The Witcher 3. What sets it apart, in his telling, is the contrast baked into the setting. Letten looks almost too peaceful, and something considerably darker sits underneath that calm surface.
That setup is familiar Witcher territory: a quiet place hiding a problem that needs a professional to sort out. The trailer does not reveal what that problem actually is, leaving the specifics of Letten's mystery for later.
Songs of the Past does not have a release date yet beyond a general window of 2027.
A Free Remaster Lands September 29
Alongside the expansion reveal, CD Projekt Red confirmed a free remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, set to launch on September 29, 2026, on PC and consoles, including Nintendo Switch 2 and Battle.net.
Tost singled out the visual overhaul as one of his favorite parts of the update. The remaster brings new textures, updated rendering, path tracing and improved foliage, aimed at bringing the decade-old game closer to current visual standards without changing the game underneath it. Tost joked on stream that Geralt has never looked better, even this deep into retirement.
Combat and Abilities Get Reworked
The remaster is not limited to graphics. Tost said combat has been reworked to feel smoother and more precise, with an updated camera, new targeting, fresh animations and new finishers.
The ability system is getting a full revamp as well. Tost called The Witcher 3 a full RPG at heart and said the team wanted players to have more meaningful choices in how they build Geralt. CD Projekt Red also listed updated Witcher Signs effects, reworked mount handling and an expanded Photo Mode among the other changes coming with the remaster.
Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine Go Free
CD Projekt Red had one more piece of news tied to the remaster. Tost confirmed that both existing expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, will be free for anyone who already owns the base game.
That gives anyone who stuck to the main campaign a reason to go back and finish both stories before Songs of the Past arrives. Combined with the September 29 remaster, it adds up to a fairly large package for returning players ahead of Geralt's final chapter.
What Comes Next
The remaster arrives first, on September 29, bringing the visual and combat changes along with free access to Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Songs of the Past follows sometime in 2027, closing out Geralt's story with a new region, a new weapon tied to the franchise's roots, and a mystery in Letten that has not been explained yet.
CD Projekt Red is treating this as a genuine goodbye rather than another side story, and that alone makes Songs of the Past one of the bigger Witcher announcements in years.
