The Witcher 3: What to expect from the Songs of the Past expansion

This article contains spoilers.

The announcement of Songs of the Past almost immediately revived a discussion that seemed to have ended with Blood & Wine: is there still room to continue Geralt of Rivia's story without compromising the ending of The Witcher 3?

For years, CD Projekt RED itself treated Blood & Wine as the definitive conclusion to the character. The expansion not only gave the witcher a rare moment of stability, but also functioned almost as a symbolic farewell. Geralt ended his journey in Corvo Bianco surrounded by tranquility, something extremely rare within the universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Therefore, Songs of the Past seems to point in a very different direction from that adopted in Wild Hunt. The expansion's name itself suggests a narrative less focused on global threats and more connected to the marks left by Geralt's past. And, honestly, it makes perfect sense that CD Projekt is following this path.

Sapkowski's books have always explored the idea that the past never completely abandons its characters. Almost every major relationship built throughout the saga returns at some point, carrying guilt, regret, resentment, or unexpected consequences. In this sense, Geralt spends a good part of the franchise trying to escape this without ever truly succeeding.

Thus, Songs of the Past is perhaps less a traditional sequel and more a story about the legacy of one of the characters who has become a favorite of many.

Ciri's fate still seems far from over

Even though The Witcher 4 marks a new phase in the franchise centered on Ciri, it's difficult to imagine Songs of the Past completely ignoring the events of Wild Hunt.

In what’s considered the game's most positive ending, Ciri survives the confrontation with the White Frost and decides to follow the path of a witcher. The problem is that The Witcher 3 practically ends her participation the moment this new life begins. There's a huge narrative void between that decision and the character's future.

This becomes even more relevant when considering how the books treat the relationship between Geralt and Ciri. Much more than adoptive father and daughter, the two represent almost a desperate attempt to build some kind of family in a world constantly destroyed by wars and political violence.

Songs of the Past could explore precisely what happens after this mission finally ends.

Throughout the literary saga and the three main games, Geralt lives driven by the need to protect Ciri. When Wild Hunt ends, he finally loses that purpose, and perhaps that's exactly the point of the expansion: to show Geralt trying to deal with his own identity after fulfilling what defined his life for decades.

There's even room to explore a theme very present in Sapkowski's books: the constant fear of loss. Geralt never manages to experience his relationships in a completely peaceful way because he almost always believes that everything could disappear at any moment. A narrative centered on memories would fit perfectly into this more melancholic tone.

The return of old comrades is inevitable

The title Songs of the Past practically invites the expansion to revisit old characters from the franchise.

Eskel is perhaps the most obvious example. In the books and games, he functions as a reflection of Geralt. The two have similar trajectories, share experiences in Kaer Morhen, and represent a generation of witchers that’s slowly disappearing from the Continent. Despite this, Wild Hunt uses the character relatively little after the battle.

An expansion more focused on personal relationships could delve deeper into what the games have always left partially open: how witchers perceive their own end as the world slowly ceases to need them.

Lambert also has an extremely interesting arc to revisit. Unlike Geralt and Eskel, he never fully accepted his condition as a witcher. At various points in The Witcher 3, Lambert demonstrates deep resentment towards the School of the Wolf and the destiny imposed on him in childhood.

Depending on the player's choices, Lambert leaves Kaer Morhen alongside Keira Metz in search of a new life. This creates an interesting narrative possibility because Songs of the Past could show former witchers trying to exist in a world that no longer has room for them.

In the books, Geralt constantly encounters ruins of ancient orders, destroyed kingdoms, and slowly fading traditions. Thus, much of the narrative works precisely with the idea that almost everything eventually declines.

The books offer important clues for the expansion

There’s also the possibility that Songs of the Past will recover elements from Sapkowski's work that the games never fully explored.

One character that immediately comes to mind is Essi Daven, known to readers as "Little Eye". She appears in the short story A Small Sacrifice, one of the most tragic chapters in the entire literary saga.

Essi falls in love with Geralt during a mission involving political conflicts and mermaids, but quickly realizes that he remains emotionally attached to Yennefer. The story ends cruelly years later, when it’s revealed that Essi died during an epidemic.

The most important thing isn’t just the character herself, but the emotional impact she leaves on Geralt. Sapkowski uses this arc to show how the witcher frequently destroys important relationships precisely because he can never completely disconnect from his own past.

Songs of the Past could easily recapture this type of memory. Not necessarily through literal flashbacks, but using people, places, or past events that force Geralt to confront choices he preferred to forget.

Another important element of the books is the protagonist's relationship with Kaer Morhen. The games show the fortress already in advanced decay, but Sapkowski frequently suggests the symbolic weight of that place for the last living witchers. An expansion focused on memories could explore events prior to the definitive fall of the School of the Wolf or even the later consequences of the destruction caused by the Wild Hunt.

Songs of the Past can serve as a more intimate farewell

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the expansion is precisely the fact that it doesn't need to escalate to an unprecedented level of threat again.

Wild Hunt already pushed Geralt to the maximum possible limit within that base story, and Blood & Wine concluded his journey by offering something rare: peace. Therefore, transforming Songs of the Past into yet another story about saving the world would likely diminish the emotional weight of the previous ending and have the potential to fall into clichés.

A smaller, more personal narrative seems much more coherent with the current moment in the franchise.

This also helps prepare the ground for The Witcher 4. CD Projekt is clearly entering a new phase of the series, now centered on Ciri. In this context, Songs of the Past can function almost as a final look at Geralt's life before the franchise definitively moves in another direction.

So far, CD Projekt RED has only confirmed that the expansion will star Geralt and that more details will be revealed in the future. Still, the chosen title already offers enough clues to imagine a story less concerned with increasing scale and more interested in revisiting the choices that have accompanied Geralt from Sapkowski's books to the end of Wild Hunt.