Every year we seem to get a “worst kept secret” in the gaming industry; this year, and part of last year, that secret was the new one The Witcher 3 – Songs of the Past DLC. Of course, this secret has now been officially revealed, as CD Projekt Red recently pulled back the curtain ever so slightly on the expansion, confirming its existence and revealing its title.
We know that Songs from the past DLC is meant to bridge the gap between The Witcher 3 and The Witcher 4and we know it features Geralt of Rivia as opposed to Ciri. But aside from some interesting developmental contexts, like how Songs from the past is being developed together with The Witcher 1 remake studio Fool's Theory, that's basically all the information we have. The rest is up to interpretation, which is obviously free. If we allow ourselves to wander into this realm of speculation for a moment, then perhaps the very title of the DLC can give us an insight into what CD Projekt Red has planned. After all, this is the first Witcher 3 expansion spanning over a decade – you can imagine that CD Projekt Red has put a lot of thought into its title.
The official new Witcher 3 release coming next year will be a must play before Witcher 4
CD Projekt Red teases that The Witcher 3's 2027 expansion will be a must-have in preparation for the next full entry in the series.
As previously mentioned, Songs from the past is supposed to connect The Witcher 3 to The Witcher 4which creates a clearer continuity for the series. A potentially messy element there Songs from the past will have to contend with is the multi-end structure of The Witcher 3s story. All in all, there are technically over 30 potential endings The Witcher 3none of which have been explicitly labeled as the canon finale. Of course, it's safe to assume that some endings, like the one where Ciri dies, will be made non-canon, but they're not all that simple.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the wrapper while scraping off as little foil as possible.
Start
Identify the wrapper while scraping off as little foil as possible.
EasyMediumHardPermadeath
Probably more important than ending canonization is actually creating the context for The Witcher 4. It seems like Songs from the past will do exactly this, perhaps even taking us through the early days of Ciri's Witcher trials. It looks like Geralt will be the main focus of the expansion, so maybe there will be a kind of passing of the torch, like how Marvel's Spider-Man 2 ostensibly setting up Miles Morales as the new protagonist by pairing him with Peter Parker for a big team-up adventure. In this way, Songs from the past would look strictly towards the future of the franchise.
The expansion with “past” in its title may simply be a cheeky reference to the double-digit age of The Witcher 3but I somehow doubt it. “Songs” in this context likely refers to stories (the Dandelion writes songs about Geralt's adventures, for example), so perhaps this expansion will be something of a retrospective on Geralt's history as not just a legendary Witcher, but a legendary video game protagonist. Perhaps the expansion will dredge up old secrets or enemies from Geralt's past, making him replay his greatest hits. Additionally, the presence of Belletyn in the key art has fans talking, as this is Yennefer's birthplace, suggesting that Ciri's other parental figure may have a significant role in the DLC.
Songs from the past is a fascinating and never-before-seen expansion, as it builds on a single-player role-playing game from another console generation. As such, it's hard to know exactly what to expect – CD Projekt Red is definitely breaking new ground with this release strategy. But if CD Projekt Red is going to revisit a game as beloved (and well-aged) as The Witcher 3it needs to pack some serious storytelling heat. Here's hoping so Songs from the pastwhatever it is about, lives up to the hype.
