{"id":1802167,"date":"2026-03-02T14:47:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1802167"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:47:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:47:22","slug":"the-witcher-3-dlc-rumours-strengthen-as-insider-suggests-it-takes-place-near-velen-not-zerrikania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1802167","title":{"rendered":"The Witcher 3 DLC rumours strengthen as insider suggests it takes place near Velen, not Zerrikania"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">The Witcher 3 DLC rumours strengthen as insider suggests it takes place near Velen, not Zerrikania<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Just leshen you know.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/witcher-ciri-3.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A white-haired young woman looks over her shoulder, which also has a sword slung across it. It's Ciri in The Witcher 3.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"witcher-ciri-3.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>CD Projekt Red<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Robert Purchese avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/user-9946-originalxoriginal-14-03-23.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1017\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Robert Purchese avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"user-9946-originalxoriginal-14-03-23.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1017\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/robert-purchese\">Robert Purchese<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Associate Editor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-02T14:47:22+00:00\">March 2, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-witcher-3-dlc-expansion-rumours-strengthen?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          16 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"5602a568-15bf-416c-8edc-63042b171df5\" data-name=\"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" data-follow-text=\"Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\" title=\"Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\"><br \/>\n  Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>More trusted voices are adding their weight to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt\">The Witcher 3<\/a> DLC\/expansion rumour, as we hear that it&#8217;s not the desert area of Zerrikania the add-on will take us to but somewhere nearer a place we know &#8211; the forested land of Velen.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of pieces of information to consider. The first is that respected insider NateTheHate stated that The Witcher 3 add-on is real. When asked if it exists, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NateTheHate2\/status\/2028165635331457259\">NateTheHate replied<\/a> on X that, simply, &#8220;It does.&#8221; NateTheHate has a record of leaking industry news; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-to-release-acclaimed-first-party-game-on-another-platform-report-suggests\">they broke the news that Xbox would publish games PlayStation<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n<p>The second piece of information comes from a former Polish games journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@UVograch\">UV o grach<\/a>, who is said to have close ties to the Polish industry. They <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/vQ4mx6fpDeE?si=4o6J6Smtw-CK65aB&amp;t=3335\">told their YouTube viewers<\/a> the DLC\/expansion would actually be located in a land very close to Velen, although not Velen itself. The specific comments are hard to find as the video is in Polish, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/witcher\/comments\/1rcoock\/the_witcher_3_new_rumor_dlc_wont_be_set_in\/\">multiple people on Reddit<\/a> who speak Polish have corroborated this information.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of translation: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/2026s-rumoured-witcher-3-expansion-will-take-us-further-afield-than-ever-before-per-new-rumours\">prior Zerrikania rumours<\/a> were potentially made a bigger deal out of than they ought to have been. The IGN Poland report that they were based on only ever mentioned CD Projekt Red had <em>considered <\/em>an expansion desert setting years ago; in the years since, plans could easily have changed. Zerrikania might never have been in the offing.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rumours of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/is-there-really-going-to-be-a-2026-witcher-3-expansion\">a surprise 2026 Witcher 3 DLC\/expansion<\/a> gained momentum at the beginning of this year. So far we&#8217;ve heard that this will be a paid expansion costing around $30, which aims to bridge the gap between The Witcher 3 and Witcher 4, and will possibly star Ciri. It&#8217;s allegedly being developed by Fool&#8217;s Theory, a studio made up of former CD Projekt devs, which is also remaking The Witcher 1 and helping with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-witcher-4\">The Witcher 4<\/a>. A release date is rumoured for The Witcher 3&#8217;s anniversary month of May.<\/p>\n<p>CD Projekt Red hasn&#8217;t said anything other than it doesn&#8217;t comment on rumour and speculation, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/witcher-3-expansion-rumours-analyst-100-percent-certain-cd-projekt-red-will-release-significant-new-content-this-year\">there&#8217;s so much smoke now<\/a> it&#8217;s tempting to believe it&#8217;s true. But when does CD Projekt Red intend to announce it? There aren&#8217;t any obvious game-show moments to hang an announcement on before the summer, unless it piggybacks the new-look Game Developers Conference this month.<\/p>\n<p>More to the point, if this expansion is $30, it will be the most expensive add-on The Witcher 3 has had. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-witcher-3-hearts-of-stone-review\">Hearts of Stone<\/a> was $10 (\u00a38) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-witcher-3-blood-and-wine-review\">Blood and Wine<\/a> was $20 (\u00a316), and both were considerable pieces of work. Are we to believe this add-on will be bigger, or even as big, as Blood and Wine, which included a beautiful new region and roughly 15-20 hours of story? It&#8217;d be some accomplishment to match or top that, especially as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/a-whole-new-witcher-trilogy-of-games-released-within-six-years-of-each-other-is-that-even-possible-cd-projekt-red-thinks-so\">CD Projekt Red appears to be too busy making The Witcher 4<\/a> to help.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>More trusted voices are adding their weight to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt\">The Witcher 3<\/a> DLC\/expansion rumour, as we hear that it&#8217;s not the desert area of Zerrikania the add-on will take us to but somewhere nearer a place we know &#8211; the forested land of Velen.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of pieces of information to consider. The first is that respected insider NateTheHate stated that The Witcher 3 add-on is real. When asked if it exists, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NateTheHate2\/status\/2028165635331457259\">NateTheHate replied<\/a> on X that, simply, &#8220;It does.&#8221; NateTheHate has a record of leaking industry news; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-to-release-acclaimed-first-party-game-on-another-platform-report-suggests\">they broke the news that Xbox would publish games PlayStation<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n<p>The second piece of information comes from a former Polish games journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@UVograch\">UV o grach<\/a>, who is said to have close ties to the Polish industry. They <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/vQ4mx6fpDeE?si=4o6J6Smtw-CK65aB&amp;t=3335\">told their YouTube viewers<\/a> the DLC\/expansion would actually be located in a land very close to Velen, although not Velen itself. The specific comments are hard to find as the video is in Polish, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/witcher\/comments\/1rcoock\/the_witcher_3_new_rumor_dlc_wont_be_set_in\/\">multiple people on Reddit<\/a> who speak Polish have corroborated this information.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of translation: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/2026s-rumoured-witcher-3-expansion-will-take-us-further-afield-than-ever-before-per-new-rumours\">prior Zerrikania rumours<\/a> were potentially made a bigger deal out of than they ought to have been. The IGN Poland report that they were based on only ever mentioned CD Projekt Red had <em>considered <\/em>an expansion desert setting years ago; in the years since, plans could easily have changed. Zerrikania might never have been in the offing.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rumours of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/is-there-really-going-to-be-a-2026-witcher-3-expansion\">a surprise 2026 Witcher 3 DLC\/expansion<\/a> gained momentum at the beginning of this year. So far we&#8217;ve heard that this will be a paid expansion costing around $30, which aims to bridge the gap between The Witcher 3 and Witcher 4, and will possibly star Ciri. It&#8217;s allegedly being developed by Fool&#8217;s Theory, a studio made up of former CD Projekt devs, which is also remaking The Witcher 1 and helping with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-witcher-4\">The Witcher 4<\/a>. A release date is rumoured for The Witcher 3&#8217;s anniversary month of May.<\/p>\n<p>CD Projekt Red hasn&#8217;t said anything other than it doesn&#8217;t comment on rumour and speculation, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/witcher-3-expansion-rumours-analyst-100-percent-certain-cd-projekt-red-will-release-significant-new-content-this-year\">there&#8217;s so much smoke now<\/a> it&#8217;s tempting to believe it&#8217;s true. But when does CD Projekt Red intend to announce it? There aren&#8217;t any obvious game-show moments to hang an announcement on before the summer, unless it piggybacks the new-look Game Developers Conference this month.<\/p>\n<p>More to the point, if this expansion is $30, it will be the most expensive add-on The Witcher 3 has had. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-witcher-3-hearts-of-stone-review\">Hearts of Stone<\/a> was $10 (\u00a38) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-witcher-3-blood-and-wine-review\">Blood and Wine<\/a> was $20 (\u00a316), and both were considerable pieces of work. Are we to believe this add-on will be bigger, or even as big, as Blood and Wine, which included a beautiful new region and roughly 15-20 hours of story? It&#8217;d be some accomplishment to match or top that, especially as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/a-whole-new-witcher-trilogy-of-games-released-within-six-years-of-each-other-is-that-even-possible-cd-projekt-red-thinks-so\">CD Projekt Red appears to be too busy making The Witcher 4<\/a> to help.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Witcher 3 DLC rumours strengthen as insider suggests it takes place near Velen, not Zerrikania Just leshen you know. Image credit: CD Projekt Red News by Robert Purchese Associate Editor Published on March 2, 2026 16 comments Follow The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt More trusted voices are adding their weight to The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1802167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1802167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1802167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1802167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1802167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}