The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past plays out differently if you've finished the RPG's second expansion, but devs say that doesn't mean you have to
CD Projekt Red's new content works around what you've done
Now that The Witcher 3 Remastered is finally here, we're all looking forward to CD Projekt Red's new expansion, Songs of the Past – but we don't need to rush through the RPG's other DLC, apparently.
Fool's Theory – the partner studio working with CD Projekt Red on the expansion – creative vision director Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz confirms as much in a new interview with VGC.
She implies that the upcoming content will actually work around the player and what they've done in the RPG so far, rather than requiring them to have completed both Hearts of Stone as well as Blood and Wine prior to engaging with Songs of the Past.
"From a practical side, people will be able to start Songs of the Past immediately after finishing the main story," she explains.
"So, you do not have to finish the expansions. However, when it comes to the timeline, those expansions were before, so we continue with the story that Geralt really wanted to retire, but then he cannot because his best friend asks him for this one last favor to accompany him."
Sounds good to me – and, again, there's no need to fear missing out. Songs of the Past works on your time, so to speak.
"And then we, of course, continue the story depending on whether the player has finished the second expansion or not," as Kuzia-Rokosz says. "We carry that in the story, in dialogue, consequences, and so on."
How? Well, I suppose we'll have to wait and see… "But you do not have to finish previous expansions to start Songs of the Past."
It's great news for those of us with a serious sense of FOMO (at the best of times, if you're me), plus it leaves time to complete everything The Witcher 3 has to offer, which is, uh, a lot.
On average, according to How Long To Beat, anyway, folks spend a whopping 27 hours and a bit enjoying the Blood and Wine expansion. That number rises to over 40 for fans wanting to 100% it – so, yeah. A lot is an understatement, really.
Songs of the Past itself releases sometime next year, with CD Projekt Red only having given us a 2027 launch window. I've got my own fingers crossed it comes sooner rather than later, though – especially seeing as we can apparently dive straight into it.
Searching for new games to wishlist? Browse through our roundup of all of the upcoming CD Projekt Red games for more to look forward to.
After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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