CD Projekt Red and co-developer Fool’s Theory pulled back the curtain on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, during Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2026. The reveal confirmed that the expansion will transport players to Letten, a brand-new region in the northern reaches of the Continent — and notably, the homeland of Geralt’s beloved companion Dandelion. With the base game now over a decade old, the announcement has reignited excitement among fans eager to return to one of gaming’s most celebrated open worlds.
Finding Letten on a map, however, is no simple task. During a CDPR Gamescom livestream, Fool’s Theory world director Peter Gelencser offered detailed — if somewhat labyrinthine — directions, placing Letten roughly halfway between Kovir and Kaedwen. He pointed fans toward the Gulf of Praxeda, then along the Buina and Nimnar rivers to the southern shore, before conceding with a laugh that it’s simply “in the north” for those who prefer the short version. The region appears to sit in northern Redania, not far from Blaviken, the infamous town where Geralt earned his “Butcher” title — and intriguingly close to Kovir, the confirmed setting of The Witcher 4.
The expansion’s story centers on Dandelion’s sudden disappearance shortly after Geralt arrives in Letten for the spring festival of Belleteyn. What begins as a search for a missing friend soon escalates into something far darker, sending Geralt deep into the bard’s family history and their sprawling estate. A hands-off demo at Gamescom showcased encounters with Dandelion’s extended family, including a cousin and grandmother, all set against an idyllic Polish countryside aesthetic described by Fool’s Theory vision director Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz as “very calm” with crisp spring mornings and lush vegetation.
Perhaps most surprising is the expansion’s origin story. According to an interview with Fool’s Theory CEO Jakub Rokosz, the narrative for Songs of the Past was originally conceived years ago by CD Projekt Red writers Ola Motyka and Philip Weber, both of whom worked on the base game. The project was shelved at the time due to various circumstances, only to be revived once Fool’s Theory had grown enough to take on co-development duties. Since then, the team has expanded and deepened the story considerably from its initial blueprint.
While the tale draws general inspiration from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, Rokosz emphasized that Songs of the Past is an entirely original story rather than an adaptation of existing source material. The expansion uses the books as a springboard for what the team describes as a more intimate character study of Dandelion — a figure who, despite being one of the franchise’s most recognizable personalities, has rarely been the central focus of a major storyline. Senior quest designer Despoina Anetaki of CD Projekt Red echoed this sentiment, noting that the narrative aims to explore new dimensions of the bard’s character.
With its lush new setting, strong narrative pedigree, and geographic proximity to The Witcher 4’s confirmed location, Songs of the Past appears designed to serve as both a satisfying return to The Witcher 3 and a subtle bridge toward the franchise’s next chapter. A release date has not yet been announced.