CD Projekt Red is developing a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the company announced on May 27, 2026. Titled Songs of the Past, the add-on is slated for release in 2027 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. The news confirms that the iconic RPG, first released in 2015, will continue to receive major content updates well into its second decade—but it comes with a significant hardware catch.

According to the announcement, Songs of the Past will require Windows 11, a solid-state drive, and DirectX 12 on PC. The expansion drops support for Windows 10, hard disk drives, and older DirectX versions, effectively ending the era of broad backward compatibility that The Witcher 3 has enjoyed since launch.

A New Chapter in a Legendary Saga

CD Projekt Red's latest move is unexpected. The Witcher 3 originally launched on May 19, 2015, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It received two major expansions: Hearts of Stone on October 13, 2015, and Blood and Wine on May 31, 2016. These expansions expanded the game's world and narrative, with Blood and Wine often hailed as one of the best expansions in gaming history. After Blood and Wine, the studio shifted focus to Cyberpunk 2077 and the next Witcher title, leading many to assume that Geralt's story was over. A next-gen update arrived on December 14, 2022, bringing visual enhancements, ray tracing, and quality-of-life improvements to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. But a full-fledged expansion eight years after Blood and Wine? That's a surprising development.

The title Songs of the Past hints at a narrative that could delve into Geralt's history or explore unresolved threads from the novels. CD Projekt Red has not released story details, but the name alone fuels speculation. Will it be a prequel, a flashback, or an entirely new tale set before the events of the Wild Hunt? The studio is keeping its cards close to the chest.

The Technical Leap: Why Windows 11, SSD, and DirectX 12?

The stricter hardware requirements are not arbitrary. The Witcher 3's 2022 next-gen update already introduced DirectX 12 support as an option, alongside improved textures, ray-traced global illumination, ambient occlusion, and support for technologies like NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FidelityFX. However, the game continued to run on Windows 7 and 10, and even on hard drives, albeit with longer load times and reduced performance. Songs of the Past takes a decisive step forward.

Requiring Windows 11 likely ties into deeper OS-level integration with DirectX 12 Ultimate features. DirectX 12 Ultimate, fully realized only on Windows 11 with compatible hardware, brings advanced features such as DirectX Raytracing (DXR) 1.1, Variable Rate Shading (VRS), Mesh Shaders, and Sampler Feedback. These can dramatically improve visual fidelity and performance. Mesh Shaders, for example, allow for more efficient geometry processing, enabling richer environments without tanking frame rates. VRS lets the GPU allocate shading resources more intelligently, boosting performance where fine detail is less noticeable.

A mandatory SSD is another sign of the times. Both the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 come with ultra-fast SSDs and architectures built around streaming assets directly from storage. On PC, the push toward SSD-only games has been gradual, with titles like Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty recommending or requiring SSDs. For Songs of the Past, it's a hard requirement. That spells the end for load times measured in minutes and texture pop-in that plagued the original version on older hardware.

Dropping DirectX 11 and Windows 10 support streamlines development. CD Projekt Red can now leverage a single modern graphics API across all platforms, reducing engineering overhead and likely resulting in a more stable, feature-rich experience on PC.

What This Means for Gamers

The hardware demands will divide the fanbase. The Witcher 3 sold over 50 million copies across multiple platforms, and a significant portion of PC players still use Windows 10, according to StatCounter and Steam surveys. Windows 11 adoption has crossed the 30-40% mark on Steam, but many holdouts exist, particularly those with older CPUs that fail the TPM 2.0 requirement. For them, Songs of the Past is a no-go without a system upgrade.

Similarly, while SSDs have become the standard in gaming rigs, many budget systems and older laptops still rely on mechanical hard drives. The expansion won't install—or at least won't run—on such storage. This mirrors trends in the industry, with DirectStorage and other I/O technologies pushing developers to design for the speed of modern storage.

On consoles, the situation is clearer: only the current-gen machines have the horsepower. The original PS4 and Xbox One versions of The Witcher 3 are left behind entirely. This isn't surprising; those platforms are over a decade old. Yet it underscores the generational shift that even long-running cross-gen titles eventually complete.

The Long Tail of The Witcher 3

Few single-player games enjoy the longevity of The Witcher 3. Its rich open world, deep storytelling, and vibrant modding community have kept it relevant. The Netflix series and anime spin-off introduced new fans, many of whom then picked up the game. CD Projekt Red capitalized on this with the next-gen update, which was free for existing owners—a move that earned goodwill after Cyberpunk 2077's rocky launch.

Now, with a paid expansion on the horizon, the studio is betting that the audience is hungry for more. The timing is curious. CD Projekt Red is hard at work on the next mainline Witcher game, code-named Polaris, which entered full production in 2024. A new Witcher 3 expansion suggests a dedicated team—perhaps a smaller group within the company—has been given the creative freedom to extend Geralt's journey while the larger project simmers.

Speculation: What Will Songs of the Past Be About?

With zero official narrative details, the community is rife with theories. Some believe it will tie into the upcoming Witcher 4, bridging the gap between the existing trilogy and the new saga. Others point to the title as a clue: it could involve Ciri's child, the Wild Hunt's origins, or even a deep dive into Geralt's training at Kaer Morhen. The phrase "songs" often refers to Dandelion's ballads or the elven legends scattered through the lore. Given the success of Blood and Wine's fairy-tale aesthetic, a musical or bardic theme could be in play.

Gameplay-wise, it's safe to expect new quests, monsters, weapons, and armor. The next-gen update already overhauled several mechanics, like the sign-casting system and camera options. Songs of the Past might introduce further refinements, potentially taking cues from modern action-RPGs. Co-op? Unlikely. The Witcher 3 has always been a solitary experience, and there's no indication CD Projekt Red wants to change that.

The Broader Industry Trend

Songs of the Past isn't happening in a vacuum. The gaming industry is increasingly abandoning cross-generational support. Remakes and remasters often target current-gen only now: Dead Space (2023), Resident Evil 4 (2023), and The Last of Us Part I skipped last-gen consoles. On PC, Windows 10 is gradually losing developer attention as Windows 11's user base climbs and Microsoft sunsets support for the older OS in 2025. DirectX 12 Ultimate adoption, while slow, is becoming more common in AAA releases.

For CD Projekt Red, this is also a chance to test new technology in a familiar framework. The company uses its own REDengine, but the next Witcher game has shifted to Unreal Engine 5. Songs of the Past, presumably built on the enhanced REDengine that powered the next-gen update, allows the team to squeeze more life out of their proprietary tech while they transition.

Community Reaction and Concerns

Online forums and social media have erupted with a mix of excitement and worry. Longtime fans thrilled to see Geralt again are already planning new playthroughs. But the hardware requirements have sparked debates. On platforms like Reddit and the game's official forums, users argue about whether it's fair to lock out a portion of the fanbase. Others point out that the game is eight years old; anyone clinging to Windows 7 or a spinning rust drive shouldn't expect new content.

Modders, too, have questions. The Witcher 3's modding scene is robust, with thousands of mods on Nexus Mods. A hard pivot to DirectX 12 could break compatibility with many popular mods that rely on the older renderer. This happened to some extent with the next-gen update, which required mod authors to update their creations. A full expansion might be even more disruptive, though CD Projekt Red has historically supported modders with tools and documentation.

Release Window and What's Next

No specific date has been given beyond "2027." That's a wide window, but given CD Projekt Red's history of delays (Cyberpunk 2077 was famously pushed multiple times), it's wise to expect it in the latter half of the year, perhaps around the holiday season.

Between now and then, the studio will likely share trailers and deep dives. The Summer Game Fest or a dedicated Witcher event could serve as a platform. For now, all we have is a name and a promise: that Geralt of Rivia will sing one more song before the curtain falls.

In the meantime, players on Windows 10 who intend to experience Songs of the Past should start planning their upgrades. Windows 11's requirements remain a barrier for older hardware, but by 2027, three years after Windows 10's end-of-support date, the shift will be far less controversial. And if you're still rocking a mechanical hard drive, well—this might be the nudge to embrace solid-state.