There's Big Witcher News Brewing!

It has been quite a week of big gaming news (or leaks...) and luckily, some of it feels relevant to my own interests.  Sadly, that's not all the hubbub around Grand Theft Auto VI, because I am on PC and know that it'll be at least a few years before I'll be happily running and gunning around a new fictional world.  (Plus, some of the "takes" get really annoying--people claiming that it's going to be disappointing because xyz isn't featured...sheesh!)  The most relevant news for me has been about the now 11 year old The Witcher 3.  I was very surprised when they announced a new DLC but it turns out that it gets even better than that.  If you haven't booted it up in awhile, the end of September is going to be the perfect time to dive back in.  Here's why/the big news:

The Witcher 3 is getting a "remastered" version!  Now, I could've sworn that it already got a bit of a graphical update (when they were adding in the new crossover content from the Netflix series), but apparently it's getting an entirely updated look.  But that's not it folks--if you're someone who never invested in the DLC (do those people exist?) the remastered version will include both "Hearts of Stone" and "Blood and Wine" for free!  On top of all that there's an entire list of improvements to the base gameplay that's being included--stuff like new finishers, new animations for signs, improved monster behavior, revamped skill trees...and a lot more!  Undoubtedly the best part--it's free to anyone who already owns TW3!  Take a gander at the official trailer if you haven't seen it yet:

I'm a huge The Witcher fan, so this is an unexpected surprise.  One thing that I'm finding funny is that people are widely singing the praises of CDPR and lauding them for offering this upgrade for free when other developers would make this a paid version.  Just a few years ago, when the release of CyberPunk 2077 was an absolute disaster, these same folks were in full on torches n' pitchforks mode and prognosticating the doom of CDPR.  My, how the turns have tabled.  I guess now it's okay to like them again.

One interesting piece that no one is talking about was an announcement that CDPR was "partnering" with Blizzard to offer TW3 through Battle.net.  I was very confused by this and a bit worried that maybe this means that CDPR might be getting gobbled up by the Activision/Blizzard monster.  I guess they've done plenty of partnerships with other games or crossover content, so maybe it's nothing to worry about.  I'm really hoping that's not the case--CDPR seems like they want to stay independent and I've appreciated their more pro-gamer stances (like no DRM).

They also released a new trailer for the upcoming "Songs of the Past" DLC and a bit more information about the story.  It will apparently take place in a province known as Letten and will broadly feature characters related to Geralt's bard BFF Dandelion (formally know as the viscount Julian de Lettenhove).  The entire Lettenhove clan is apparently going to be part of it--granny too!  And, we finally get to use that silver chain that was featured way back in the original The Witcher trailer!  If you're interested, here's an entire interview about the upcoming features in "Songs of the Past."

I'm excited for all this new content--I don't really need a reason to start yet another TW3 playthrough, but both the remaster and the new DLC definitely give me one.  I was a bit surprised that there wasn't more The Witcher 4 information, but hopefully that will be forthcoming.  I can't wait for September 29th!

Semi-Unexpected Surprise

I tend to ignore a lot of the internet related gaming rumors--especially the ones that seem a bit unbelievable.  Even though I kept seeing some reports that there was new content for the now 11-year old The Witcher 3 in the works, it seemed downright goofy.  Who makes new content for an 11-year old game?!?  (*Okay, there are obviously some exceptions like games that have multi-player/online content like GTA V or maybe the oddity that is No Man's Sky).  It turns out that these rumors were true--The Witcher 3 will be getting new content as part of the "Songs of the Past" expansion that currently has a very vague 2027 release date.

The Witcher 3 is definitely one of my all time favorites, so yeah, I'm definitely going to play anything related to it.  So far the details about the new content have been very sparse and a bit cryptic.  They released a graphic promoting the new content that shows Geralt (in his very traditional gear) holding an interesting new sword with a giant, crazy tentacled monster lurking in the background (*included below in case you haven't seen it in a billion other places).

What details can we glean from this image--honestly, not much.  We can safely assume (based on previous DLC) that there will be new gear and some sort of big, bad monster that Geralt will ultimately face off against.  The title also hints that it might take place in the past OR potentially involve some sort of event from Geralt's past that has come back.  I'm curious if there will be some sort of tie-in with the upcoming The Witcher 4.  It sounds more likely though that it will reference the OG The Witcher since it is being co-developed between CD Projekt and the devs of the upcoming Witcher remaster.  I had completely forgotten about that project because there has been so little news about it.

There are a few confirmed details--CD Projekt made it a point to emphasize that "Songs of the Past" isn't a DLC but a full expansion similar to "Hearts of Stone" and "Blood and Wine."  Based on that, we'll likely see a new zone, new enemy types, new abilities, and maybe even some new gwent cards!  In a video yesterday they also dropped some hints that there are clues in a graphic related to the in-game holiday known as Belleteyn.  (See below)

So we have Geralt hanging out with the same sword that we see in the other image and Dandelion strumming his lute in the midst of a fun belleteyn celebration.  There's apparently also a poem that accompanies this image:

On Belleteyn night, when tall fires rise,
Whispered wishes go through the quiet skies.
A lion cub’s fate is penned in the stars,
And lilac and gooseberries are never too far.
Tonight, there are no monsters to kill, no roads to roam,
Just quiet thoughts and wishes that try to find a home.
The White Wolf sits still, mesmerized by the dancing flame,
While Dandelion strums his lute and hums Geralt’s name.

The poem hints at Ciri (the lion cub) and Yennefer (good ol' lilac and gooseberries), so there's probably a good chance we'll see involvement or a storyline involving them.  Oh, and Dandelion too.  But other than that, there's not much to glean--a party atmosphere?  Maybe some magical nonsense related to the festival of Belleteyn itself?

I felt like "Blood and Wine" ended in such a great way that I'm a bit surprised at this new content.  Geralt has just settled into Corvo Bianco and he's venturing out again?  I guess he's not actually retired...maybe he has one more adventure in him.

I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more news related to "Songs of the Past."  Happy gaming!