Proof of an under-wraps third enlargement for The Witcher 3 continues to mount, with one report now pointing to a doable ‘Dune-style’ location for the brand new journey.
Phrase of a recent DLC for the beloved 2015 blockbuster RPG started effervescent up in earnest final month, fuelled by a set of experiences from insiders and obvious teases by developer CD Projekt that it had one thing secret within the works.
Now, a report by IGN Poland has stated its native sources have been conscious of potential plans for a number of years, and that — initially at the least — its builders had expressed a eager curiosity in exploring Zerrikania, an unique desert area to the far east of The Witcher 3’s present map.
Whereas IGN Poland cautions that this data dates again a number of years, it additionally goes on to listing a string of explanation why Zerrikania makes loads of sense for the enlargement, attributable to numerous hints at a Zerrikanian Manticore Faculty in earlier enlargement Blood and Wine, and references to the area made by different characters. The similar college can be a component of The Witcher’s tabletop RPG — as seen within the paintings above.
Individually, a (*3*) report has given a extra black-and-white purpose why this enlargement is probably going actual and anticipated to launch in 2026: as a result of there’s presently a spot in CD Projekt’s worker incentive program goal indicative of the corporate launching one thing anticipated to earn vital cash.
As Eurogamer notes, CD Projekt would not actually have anything anticipated to suit the invoice, with The Witcher 4 not set for launch till 2027 on the earliest, and Cyberpunk 2 after that. Work on a brand new IP can be ongoing, however even additional off.
There is a chance nonetheless that this might relate to another, smaller Witcher spinoff, however with all of the smoke round a Witcher 3 enlargement now rising, all the pieces seems to be pointing in the identical path.
As “full manufacturing” on The Witcher 4 continues, CD Projekt has cautioned followers to not anticipate its launch in 2026, as the corporate plans an formidable six-year roadmap through which it’s going to additionally launch The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6. Earlier than all of that, there is a window this 12 months for much more Witcher, and a recent slice of content material that might probably assist bridge the hole.
A new DLC seems like a wise concept to reawaken lapsed curiosity forward of the collection’ subsequent chapter, through additional content material offered to The Witcher 3’s current viewers of greater than 60 million gamers. This content material could possibly be used as a purpose to promote the sport anew, to convey recent followers to the decade-old role-player, and probably arrange plot factors to be expanded upon within the franchise’s eventual sequels.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You possibly can attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social