The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past Delayed to 2027 and Coming to Gamescom 2026

Gamescom 2026: What to Expect at the CD Projekt Red Booth

Fans hoping to get their hands on Songs of the Past at Gamescom 2026 will likely be disappointed, as CD Projekt Red has signaled a departure from playable demos in favor of guided presentations. The studio intends to mirror the reveal style used for previous Witcher expansions, offering journalists and attendees a curated look at gameplay rather than a controller-in-hand experience.

Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski confirmed this approach in a recent financial earnings call, noting that the sheer scale of the project makes short, five-minute sessions impractical. I cannot really talk through the details, but what I would suggest is that historically when we were showing Witcher games, we were typically doing a guided demo kind of experience, so probably you should be thinking more along those lines rather than a hands-on experience, Nowakowski explained.

The showcase schedule in Cologne, Germany, is set for late August. CD Projekt Red will host presentations in the business area (booth B065, Hall 4.2) from August 26 to August 28, and in the entertainment area (booths B030 and A031, Hall 8.1) from August 26 to August 30.

The Shift to 2027: Quality Over Speed

While the initial roadmap for CD Projekt Red included a 2026 release, the studio opted for a delay to 2027. Executives were transparent about the decision during an earnings call, emphasizing that the move was necessary to meet the high standards set by the studio’s previous work. We had a moment where our plans assumed that Songs of the Past would be released this year, but we decided, together with the dev team, that the game would be released in 2027 to achieve the best possible result from the consumers’ standpoint, which, in the end, is the ultimate thing that matters, said Nowakowski.

The expansion is being co-developed by Fool’s Theory, a studio composed of developers who worked on the original The Witcher 3 team. In terms of scope, CD Projekt Red has drawn comparisons to Blood and Wine.

Distinguishing Expansion from DLC

CD Projekt Red has been adamant that Songs of the Past should not be classified as simple downloadable content (DLC). Marcin Łukaszewski, who is in charge of community and social media at CD Projekt RED, clarified on X that the team maintains a strict distinction between the two.

• DLC:
• Expansion:

This expansion arrives more than 11 years after the base game’s initial release, with The Witcher 3 having sold over 65 million copies worldwide to date.

Role in the Franchise and The Witcher 4

With The Witcher 4 currently in production and focusing on Ciri, Songs of the Past functions as a final chapter for Geralt of Rivia. While some fans speculated that the expansion would serve as a direct prologue to the upcoming sequel, CD Projekt Red has urged caution with the term. It is, in a way, a prologue, although it’s not a prologue in a verbatim way in [that] it’s a prologue for the actual Witcher 4, Nowakowski clarified.

For those tracking the franchise’s trajectory, the expansion serves as a bridge, maintaining interest in the Witcher world while the studio prepares its next major trilogy. The expansion launches in 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Sources: Gamespress, Cdprojektred.