{"id":1959641,"date":"2026-05-28T11:46:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1959641"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:46:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:46:57","slug":"the-witcher-3-songs-of-the-past-is-an-expansion-not-dlc-cd-projekt-insists-while-using-ign-interview-with-idris-elba-to-make-the-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1959641","title":{"rendered":"The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past Is an Expansion, Not DLC, CD Projekt Insists While Using IGN Interview With Idris Elba to Make the Point"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the wake of the announcement of The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past<\/a>, CD Projekt staff have taken to social media to insist it should be considered an expansion, rather than DLC \u2014 even using an IGN interview with Cyberpunk star Idris Elba to hammer home the point.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yesterday, CD Projekt announced the third expansion to its hugely successful fantasy role-playing game The Witcher 3. It\u2019s due out in 2027, 12 years after the 60 million-selling The Witcher 3 came out in 2015, and 11 years after the second expansion, Blood and Wine, came out in 2016. The Witcher 3’s first expansion, Hearts of Stone, was released in October 2015.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have much to go on, save an official description that confirms Songs of the Past will return players to the role of legendary monster slayer Geralt of Rivia for a brand new adventure on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. That\u2019s left a void for discussion around the size and scope of Songs of the Past, but everything CD Projekt staff have said following the announcement suggests fans can expect something pretty big.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me remind you the definition of the Expansion,\u201d Pawe\u0142 Sasko, Associate Game Director on Cyberpunk 2 and former developer on Cyberpunk 2077, its expansion Phantom Liberty, and The Witcher 3 itself, tweeted<\/a> alongside a clip of Idris Elba, who played Solomon Reed in the 2023 expansion. In the clip, which is taken from an IGN interview, Elba stresses that CD Projekt releases DLC for free, but expansions are a different proposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to be clear, it\u2019s not DLC. It\u2019s an expansion. You know why? Because we do expansions \u2014 Big! Massive! Monster! We don\u2019t do DLCs, and when we do, we give them away.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If Songs of the Past is an expansion, then, we are safe to assume it will be, as Elba puts it, \u201cbig, massive, monster.\u201d But other CD Projekt developers have also chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us at CDPR, DLCs are small pieces of content we release for free \u2014 like the additional outfits for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,\u201d Marcin \u0141ukaszewski, Community and Social Media Manager, tweeted<\/a> in response to a fan question.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpansions, on the other hand, are major pieces of content providing lots of hours of gameplay, including new story, characters, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while Songs of the Past is technically DLC because it\u2019s content you download, it should be thought of differently. (One recent report pointed to the possibility of a ‘Dune-style’ location for the new expansion.) CD Projekt will host an official special anniversary stream for Blood and Wine<\/u><\/a> today, May 28. Perhaps we\u2019ll find out more there.<\/p>\n