The Witcher 3 Gets a Remaster and Major New Expansion ‘Songs of the Past’

A decade after its original debut, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has received a major remaster, and the developers have confirmed a new, full-scale expansion titled Songs of the Past is slated for release next year. The remaster is available now on consoles and PC, introducing significant technical and gameplay refinements to the open-world RPG.

Modernizing a Classic

Developed by Fool’s Theory in collaboration with CD Projekt Red, the remaster aims to address long-standing player feedback regarding the game’s original combat and movement systems. CD Projekt Red’s Paweł Sasko noted that gameplay was widely considered the “weakest part” of the original title, prompting the team to overhaul Geralt’s animations, finishers, and exploration movement.

Beyond combat, the remaster introduces a revamped skill tree inspired by the design philosophy of Cyberpunk 2.0, moving toward more active abilities. Visually, the update brings modern features to the game’s Red Engine 3, including enhanced ray tracing, path tracing, and upscaling technology developed during the production of Cyberpunk 2077. Even smaller details have been updated, with developers joking that some environmental assets, like birds, have seen a significant increase in polygon counts.

Expanding the Legend

Looking ahead, the team is working on Songs of the Past, a “fully-fledged” expansion that CD Projekt Red says rivals Blood and Wine in scope. Creative vision director Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz explained that the expansion takes place in a new region called Letten and aims to deepen the narrative focus on Geralt’s relationships—specifically his bond with Dandelion.

“We always wanted to say more about the people who are important to Geralt,” said Kuzia-Rokosz, noting that the expansion explores facets of Dandelion’s character that were not fully fleshed out in the base game. The story is designed to be accessible, allowing players to jump in immediately after completing the main game, though it will account for progress made in previous expansions through dialogue and consequential story beats.

While the industry has evolved since 2015, the developers emphasized that the project is largely driven by veterans who worked on the original game, providing a chance to revisit the world and characters with a more mature set of tools and a deeper understanding of their own design processes.