The news that The Witcher 3 is getting a brand-spanking new expansion pack in 2027 might seem bizarre at face value. This is a game that was, by all accounts, settled. But in Songs of the Past, we're going to take old Geralt out for one last spin before Ciri takes the reins in The Witcher 4. What a way to say goodbye to one of the most iconic games of the last few decades.
Over the past ten years or so, we've been seeing a lot more old games getting expansions long after their original release, and I am so here for it. Baldur's Gate got Siege of Dragonspear in 2016, Titan Quest got Ragnarok in 2017. Hell, even Doom 2 got Legacy of Rust in 2024, 30 years after its initial release. As trends go, this one can seem a little self indulgent at first glance. It's easy to write these types of gestures off as cash grabs, rather than fully-fledged works with artistic intent, but you'd be wrong to do that.
Geralt, or the Collapse and Fall of Tech Advances
There are two main reasons that we're seeing developers return to older titles, and neither are as selfish as a cash grab. The first is that the speed of tech advancements has plateaued in recent years, meaning 10-year old games today feel far more playable than those from 20 years ago. This applies to The Witcher 3 specifically, but also to Mario Kart 8's booster courses that massively spiked the number of tracks, and Borderlands 2: Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary.
Think about games from the 2010s. Do they really look that much worse than games released today? Do they make you wince and gasp at their visuals? Of course not, because the tech plateau means we're more tinkering around the edges rather than creating any grand upgrades, particularly as a lot of titles get significant post-release update support anyway.
The Witcher 3 came out 11 years ago. Think about games that released in 2005, and think if there were any that you'd think still looked almost new in 2016. The closest that you'd come would be maybe Call of Duty 2 for the Xbox 360, but it's still distinctly an older game. If you want to go back even further, and examine the tech plateau from the peak of Mount Build Engine, consider that there are only 11 years between Duke Nukem 3D and Bioshock.
You can go home again
We are living through a golden age,where titles from a decade ago won't be shunned
This is only one of the reasons I think older games are getting delayed expansions, though. The second is that we're now seeing some degree of sentimentality emerge from within game development's often frosty heart.
The games that inspired us are still widely played. Diablo 2's recent Reign of the Warlock expansion was clearly a labor of love, made partly by those who grew up on Diablo 2. The same can be said for Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, likewise for The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past – the expansion is being co-developed by Fool's Theory, the studio behind Witcher-inflected The Thaumaturge and headed by former CD Projekt Red dev Jakub Rokosz.
There is a clear throughline here, one that echoes how the games industry is maturing into something that allows for crosspollination: new games are being made, but studios still want to pay homage to the classics.
There's something special about games that allows for developers to pay their respects or build on the past without necessarily committing to a full reboot. Expansions and DLCs are unique to video games. Books can't release an additional chapter for you to enjoy decades later. You wouldn't see Quentin Tarantino adding another section to Pulp Fiction. Video games also have a leg-up on television and movies, as its characters don't age.
For all of the industry's flaws, the medium itself is flexible in a way that nothing else can be. I love that we're starting to see what happens when developers go back to their principles. Instead of decrying the idea that graphics aren't moving forward, let's appreciate that we are living through a golden age, where titles from a decade ago won't be shunned because they look rough: they hold up without any major touch-ups necessary. Let's appreciate, too, that even older games are having new life breathed into them by devs who grew up loving the original. Me? I'm holding out hope that we'll see a new expansion for Fallout: New Vegas.
The Witcher 3 is one of the best RPGs of all time, and there are plenty more like it.
