Here’s Why We Could Actually Get One More Surprise Witcher 3 DLC Before The Witcher 4

There’s no time limit on releasing expansions for games, but after a certain point, you just stop expecting new DLC. One would think that 11 years is more than enough time for a studio to stop working on new content for a game, but recent rumors point to an expansion on the way for one of the biggest RPGs of the previous decade, and they’re looking more believable as they pile up.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launched in 2015 to widespread acclaim. It would go on to receive multiple expansions that were at least as well received as the base game, including one, Blood and Wine, that’s considered by some to be the best part of the entire Witcher series. Now, multiple sources point to yet another DLC coming for the beloved RPG this year.

CD Projekt Red did not immediately respond to Inverse’s request for comment.

Rumors of a new Witcher 3 expansion have been swirling since the summer of 2025, but at that time, they were unsubstantiated. Borys Nieśpielak, a well-known game industry leaker in Poland, where CD Projekt Red is located, claimed at the time that a new expansion was being developed by the studio Fool’s Theory. That same developer is currently working on a remake of the original Witcher RPG.

That rumor mostly went under the radar until the start of 2026, when Eurogamer picked up a report from industry analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski, who claimed that a paid DLC for The Witcher 3 would be published by May 2026.

Chrzanowski’s claims actually have some potential backing from CD Projekt Red itself, which also provides a reason why an expansion would still be coming after so many years.

“Given our current progress, there is a chance that new content hinted upon in recent calls and reports may see release in the coming year, having an impact on our results and increasing the likelihood of achieving the earnings condition for the first stage of the incentive program,” CD Projekt chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz said in the company’s most recent earnings call.

While the mention of “new content” seems fairly clear, it’s the “incentive program” referenced at the end of the quote that could point to why CD Projekt Red would still be pursuing DLC for a decade-old game. Executives at the studio are due for a bonus if the company meets certain financial targets, as Eurogamer reports, and without any new games in the coming year, the chance of hitting those targets seems slim. So it makes some sense that decision-makers at CD Projekt Red would push for a new DLC to pad their paychecks.

Handing the DLC off to Fool’s Theory also makes sense in that context, as it wouldn’t require that CD Projekt Red divert staff from its own projects and risk delaying bigger games like The Witcher 4 down the line. In a later earnings call, Nowakowski also mentioned that Fool’s Theory had a third CD Projekt Red-related project in the works, on top of The Witcher remake and its contributions to The Witcher 4, according to IGN.

Once these reports came to light, IGN Poland published a piece claiming that it had heard rumblings of a Witcher 3 DLC for years, but had held off on publishing them until they could be confirmed by other sources. At the time, CD Projekt Red was reportedly considering setting the next DLC in Zerrikania, a desert region that’s well established in The Witcher book series. Zerrikania is referenced in The Witcher 3 but has yet to appear in any of the games.

An expansion arriving so long after its base game certainly isn’t the norm, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. With The Witcher 4 poised to explore Ciri’s story, it’s also possible that a trip to Zerrikania could help fill in any narrative gaps between the events of The Witcher 3 and her solo adventure. Given how many sources have now chimed in with plausible explanations, it’s seeming more likely that Geralt will get one last, unexpected story to tell before then.