The Witcher 3 is getting a third expansion in 2027, but minimum specs are increasing

[midian182]

Highly anticipated: A third expansion for The Witcher 3, one of the best RPGs ever made, will arrive in 2027. Developer CD Projekt has confirmed that the DLC will land an incredible 12 years after the base game launched, and as a result, the minimum requirements for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt will be changing.

Rumors that a third expansion for the Witcher 3 was in the works really picked up steam back in January when Polish industry insider Borys Nieśpielak claimed that Fool's Theory, which is remaking the first Witcher game, was also developing the add-on.

– CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) May 27, 2026

CD Projekt has now confirmed that Nieśpielak was on the money. The new expansion is called Songs of the Past, and it's expected to be comparable in size to the huge (and brilliant) Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Fool's Theory, which previously worked on The Thaumaturge, is co-developing with CDPR.

Much like it did with Cyberpunk 2077 ahead of the Phantom Liberty expansion, CD Projekt is increasing the minimum PC requirements for The Witcher 3.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600, Intel Core i5-8400
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB
• VRAM: 6 GB
• RAM: 12 GB
• Storage: 70 GB SSD
• OS: 64-bit Windows 11

CD Projekt writes that Windows 11 is now the minimum OS requirement, HDDs will no longer be compatible, and the game will run exclusively using DirectX 12. Moreover, only processors that work with Windows 11 will qualify, along with graphics cards that still receive active gaming driver support on the OS. It will still be possible to roll back to an earlier version of the game, though.

No details about Songs of the Past have been revealed, other than that it stars Geralt, naturally.

It'll be interesting to see how close this third expansion to The Witcher 3 lands to The Witcher 4. CD Projekt said the next full installment in the franchise won't launch until 2027 at the earliest, so the two releases could arrive within a relatively short window – it's likely that Songs of the Past will act as a bridge from The Witcher 3 to The Witcher 4.

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The Witcher 3 is getting a third expansion in 2027, but minimum specs are increasing

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Witcher 3 already needs an SSD if you want consistent frame times.

I discovered this a few days ago when I forgot to move the install back from HDD storage for another play through and was puzzled by the choppiness.

 

[Taroo]

Yeah give me more Geralt please !

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Damn, so I hope it doesn't require a complete playthrough of the entire W3 game and is more of a standalone thing and I hope it's priced appropriately as well (No more than $10? One can pray).

 

[Eldrach]

Damn, so I hope it doesn't require a complete playthrough of the entire W3 game and is more of a standalone thing and I hope it's priced appropriately as well (No more than $10? One can pray).

Not going to be 10 dollars, im guessing 29 USD.

I think you'll probably have to be level 20 at least before you can do that storyline

 

[Liljonny11]

Damn, so I hope it doesn't require a complete playthrough of the entire W3 game and is more of a standalone thing and I hope it's priced appropriately as well (No more than $10? One can pray).

Pretty sure it will be level locked so it fits into the game. But I am pretty sure the game has a standalone option that lets you start at a higher level with some end game gear. In my opinion though, by then it should have been long enough to play a replay. Witcher 3 is a very replayable game

 

[gingerbill]

Witcher 3 already needs an SSD if you want consistent frame times.

I discovered this a few days ago when I forgot to move the install back from HDD storage for another play through and was puzzled by the choppiness.

I disagree unless its changed since I played it. Which is certainly possible. Maybe its because of the settings I played on . I didn't play on the very highest options but not far off

Cant remember when SSD's became common for your average player . Weren't they rare then? don't think anyone I knew had one then , maybe my old man memory is wrong.

 

[pyron83]

Witcher 3 already needs an SSD if you want consistent frame times.

I discovered this a few days ago when I forgot to move the install back from HDD storage for another play through and was puzzled by the choppiness.

It must be a recent thing, because I remember playing it during COVID times (roughly 2020–21) and I don't remember any choppiness, even though it was installed on my usual 4TB NAS HDD.

 

[Gezzer]

Win11? I'm out...

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Win11? I'm out...

- Only because Win10 is no longer officially supported so they have to list 11 for liability purposes.

 

[Gezzer]

- Only because Win10 is no longer officially supported so they have to list 11 for liability purposes.

KK, makes sense...

 

[Taroo]

And there's good chances it'll quickly perfectly playable with Proton.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

It must be a recent thing, because I remember playing it during COVID times (roughly 2020–21) and I don't remember any choppiness, even though it was installed on my usual 4TB NAS HDD.

I disagree unless its changed since I played it. Which is certainly possible. Maybe its because of the settings I played on . I didn't play on the very highest options but not far off

Cant remember when SSD's became common for your average player . Weren't they rare then? don't think anyone I knew had one then , maybe my old man memory is wrong.

It was Witcher 3 Next Gen with Ray Tracing Ultra on, but my rig can run that fine if its on an SSD.

 

[gingerbill]

It was Witcher 3 Next Gen with Ray Tracing Ultra on, but my rig can run that fine if its on an SSD.

Ah that makes sense . I never knew their was a next-gen version.