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 contemporary DLC for the beloved 2015 blockbuster RPG started effervescent up in earnest final month, fuelled by a set of studies 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 mentioned its native sources have been conscious of potential plans for a number of years, and that — initially no less than — 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 info dates again a number of years, it additionally goes on to listing a string of the reason why Zerrikania makes quite a lot of sense for the enlargement, attributable to varied hints at a Zerrikanian Manticore College in earlier enlargement Blood and Wine, and references to the area made by different characters. The identical college can also be part of The Witcher’s tabletop RPG — as seen within the art work above.
Individually, a Eurogamer report has given a extra black-and-white motive why this enlargement is probably going actual and anticipated to launch in 2026: as a result of there’s at present a spot in CD Projekt’s worker incentive program goal indicative of the corporate launching one thing anticipated to earn important cash.
As Eurogamer notes, CD Projekt does 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 also be ongoing, however even additional off.
There is a risk nonetheless that this might relate to another, smaller Witcher spinoff, however with all of the smoke round a Witcher 3 enlargement now rising, the whole lot appears to be pointing in the identical route.
As “full manufacturing” on The Witcher 4 continues, CD Projekt has cautioned followers to not count on its launch in 2026, as the corporate plans an formidable six-year roadmap through which it is going to additionally launch The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6. Earlier than all of that, there is a window this yr for much more Witcher, and a contemporary slice of content material that might doubtlessly assist bridge the hole.
A brand new DLC looks like a sensible thought to reawaken lapsed curiosity forward of the collection’ subsequent chapter, by way of additional content material offered to The Witcher 3’s present viewers of greater than 60 million gamers. This content material may very well be used as a motive to promote the sport anew, to convey contemporary followers to the decade-old role-player, and doubtlessly 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 [email protected] or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social