UPDATE at 16.10 GMT: CD Projekt Red, for what it's worth, told me it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation – the company's usual line.
UPDATE at 13:30 GMT: Today I exchanged emails with Boris Nepelak, the original source The Witcher 3 expansion rumors, who told me his information had been verified by “multiple” independent sources. He didn't have any additional information to share other than what was on his original podcast but he directed me to potentially helpful information from earnings call transcript included with CD Projekt Red's recent financial report. He said he was surprised to see that people missed this information.
In an earnings call, CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said, “Given our current progress, there is a possibility that new content hinted at in recent calls and earnings could be released next year, which would impact our results and increase the likelihood of meeting revenue conditions for the first phase of the incentive program.”
This is a vague statement, but it does mention new content that could be released next year. Could this really be true?
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ORIGINAL STORY, 11:30 a.m. PT: Will there really be a new paid expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt coming out in 2026? Because that's the proposal I saw. This rumor ricocheted around the internet as I tried to enjoy a leftover sandwich this holiday season.
The rumor originally came from a man named Boris Nepelak, a reliable source of information for the Polish gaming industry – a source of sorts. A few years ago he made a documentary about Polish indie game development called We're Okay.it's a nice watch and it shows he has connections in the industry.
Nepelak said last summer that Fool's Theory, which is remaking The Witcher 1 for CD Projekt Red, was preparing a new expansion for Witcher 3, and he confirmed this ahead of The Game Awards in December, where he said he expected the announcement to be made. PCGamesN. But such an announcement never came.
Rumors suppressed? No, because a separate voice added strength to him. Analyst at the Polish company Noble Securities Mateusz Chrzanowski wrote a report on December 16 – after The Game Awards – which said: “We expect the next paid expansion pack (DLC) for The Witcher 3 to be released in May 2026.” This is according to Google translation Polish site report by using Reddit.
“We estimate that next year it will sell 11 million copies at $30. We estimate the production budget at PLN 52 million. The release should kick off the right marketing campaign for The Witcher 4“Chrzanowski added. He later predicted that The Witcher 4 would be released in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Interesting: could this be the rumored Witcher 3 expansion? an unannounced project mentioned in CD Projekt Red's recent financial report.?
Some of this makes sense. From a marketing perspective, kicking off The Witcher 4's marketing campaign with a surprise release of content for The Witcher 3 would certainly cause a stir. From a story perspective, the expansion could help bridge the gap between keeping Geralt as the main character and taking on the role of Ciri. The paid expansion will obviously close the financial gap between now and the release of The Witcher 4 – The Witcher 4 will be the next big project on the company's to-do list.
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But there are also reasons to doubt this. One of them is Unreal Engine 5. The studio has completely moved development from its proprietary Red Engine to Unreal Engine 5 – which is what The Witcher 4 is built on, as well as what the Witcher 1 remake is being built on, which Fool's Theory is also working on. The Witcher 1 remake has been pushed back a bit while Fool's Theory is helping CDPR make The Witcher 4 – information that was also revealed during a recent financial call. Why then give an already very busy developer another project made using the company's old Red Engine, which uses The Witcher 3?
It's worth remembering how much effort CD Projekt Red puts into expansions as well. You only need to look Phantom Freedom Cyberpunk 2077 or Blood and Wine of The Witcher 3 as examples of this. These are big, usually overly generous things. They provide smaller content than the game. As such, they are important enough to be handled in-house, and the best time to create them is while you're still in development after the main game is released.
10 years have passed since the release of The Witcher 3.. The people who created and led this game have left or are elsewhere in the company. Trying to regain some of that command, magic and muscle memory will be incredibly difficult. And why bring in people from arguably more important projects like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 to do this?
Moreover, who will the expansion focus on—Geralt again? Why push this character to the forefront if you're trying so hard to get people to buy into Ciri as the series' new protagonist? “Blood and Wine” became for him, for Geralt, the perfect swan song, and Ciri’s story will be revealed in the new game. I don't see where a new story would fit or where it would be needed.
I contacted Nipielac, Chrzanowski and CD Projekt Red to see if I could get more information. In the meantime, what do you think?
