Everything We Know About the Mysterious Third Expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Over the past year, CD Projekt Red surprised the entire gaming world with the appearance of The Witcher 4 in a nothing short of stunning engine showcase. Despite this, there's no indication the game is anywhere close to release, and those close to the situation claim it's currently targeting only 2028-29 with a very realistic possibility of being pushed to the next decade. In much more encouraging news, those same insiders claim that this year we should be getting new content for The Witcher brand in the form of a massive brand-new expansion for one of the undisputed games of the decade from the previous decade, if not the game of the decade itself - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It sounds so far-fetched, since after all, we're talking about an 11-year-old game whose last new content released exactly a decade ago, but with so many rumors flying around, it's time to sort through them and take them seriously. Let's dive with us into all the currently available information and get excited together about the very realistic possibility that the expansion will indeed come to fruition.

Real or Fiction?

Let's start with the burning question. Although nothing concrete has been said from an official source yet, there are too many people whose livelihoods depend on providing reliable information claiming that the expansion exists and will arrive this year. This, combined with CD Projekt's recent statement to investors that "in the coming quarters the company will release unannounced gaming content," makes it fairly easy to guess that this is an open secret the company is probably keeping to generate hype around it.

What Will Be in It and When Will It Release?

Here's where the fun begins. Fortunately for us, those close to the company have been dropping information they've heard about the expansion one after another for a year now, which keeps hope alive that it will actually release and provides a small peek behind the scenes. First, let's start with what all the leakers agree on - the expansion is massive in terms of content, expected to bridge the story between the third and fourth games, and is being developed by the studio Fool's Theory, which has been working closely with CD for years and has even already received one announced project from them (the remake of The Witcher 1). Regarding the release timing, there are several different sources, but all of them focus on sometime in the current year, with the most optimistic forecast being May and the pessimistic one being the end of December.

In terms of content, all the leakers agree that the expansion will contain a completely new area, but there's no consensus at all on which area it will be. Initially, most rumors centered on Zerrikania, a desert region we didn't visit in the third game. Later, the rumors actually focused on something slightly less ambitious but still interesting, which is a new area in Velen where we spent a lot of time in the third game. These rumors connect a bit better with the recent trailer for the fourth game, which appears will still focus on the northern world of The Witcher.

On a personal note, it's hard for me to believe that with so much noise from sources whose entire livelihoods depend on providing reliable information, we'll end up getting nothing. It seems that an expansion of one kind or another will be announced and will serve as another milestone toward the release of the fourth game in the series. What do you think? Have you already started a new playthrough of The Witcher 3 in honor of the expansion? Let us know in the comments!