When rumors first emerged about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Songs of the Past expansion, IGN Poland claimed to have known about it for a “very long time.” Now, speaking to Eurogamer, Fool’s Theory CEO Jakub Rokosz says the story was conceived “way back when” by writers Ola Motyka and Philip Weber, who worked on the base game.
“When they were working on it, they had to put it aside for various reasons – stars had to align, Fool’s Theory had to grow, and so on. A few years later, the topic resurfaced, and we started working on [Songs of the Past]. We’ve been digging deeper and growing it since then, and that is how it came to be the expansion you see today.”
This implies that the expansion was conceived years ago, though how long it’s been in development is unknown. And while the team “always takes a lot of inspiration” from the novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski, Songs of the Past is completely original. This time, the focus is squarely on the bond between Geralt and Dandelion, which the team finally had room to explore.
As noted by CD Projekt RED senior quest designer Despoina Anetaki, “I would say what we took from the books was Geralt and Dandelion’s close relationship, and we didn’t have the space in Witcher 3 to explore that because there were so many other topics to focus on – namely, Geralt’s relationship with Ciri.
“So this expansion was a great opportunity to actually talk about Dandelion and make him a more fleshed-out character. [In the base game], we didn’t have that much space to explore him, and now we have the space to explore him, tell his story, and see him more fully. In the books, for example, he has these more philosophical conversations with Geralt – now we get to actually see a deeper side to Dandelion in the game, too.”
The premise revolves around Dandelion inviting Geralt to his home in Lette (when it’s revealed that he’s a Viscount and his real name is Julian Alfred Pankratz). Having never faced the effects of the war between the Nilfgaardian Empire and Redania, the region is relatively peaceful. However, after celebrating Belleteyn, Dandelion disappears, and it becomes a quest to find him. Naturally, a curse involving his ancestor is at the center of everything (or so it’s believed).
The Witcher 3 – Songs of the Past is out in 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. On September 29th, CD Projekt RED will release a free remaster for the base game featuring numerous improvements, new finishers, and more that you can learn about here.
