Evidence of an under-wraps third expansion for The Witcher 3 continues to mount, with one report now pointing to a possible ‘Dune-style’ location for the new adventure.
Word of a fresh DLC for the beloved 2015 blockbuster RPG began bubbling up in earnest last month, fuelled by a set of reports from insiders and apparent teases by developer CD Projekt that it had something secret in the works.
Now, a report by IGN Poland has said its local sources have been aware of potential plans for several years, and that — initially at least — its developers had expressed a keen interest in exploring Zerrikania, an exotic desert region to the far east of The Witcher 3’s current map.
While IGN Poland cautions that this information dates back several years, it also goes on to list a string of reasons why Zerrikania makes a lot of sense for the expansion, due to various hints at a Zerrikanian Manticore School in previous expansion Blood and Wine, and references to the region made by other characters. The same school is also a part of The Witcher’s tabletop RPG — as seen in the artwork above.
Separately, a Eurogamer report has given a more black-and-white reason why this expansion is likely real and expected to launch in 2026: because there’s currently a gap in CD Projekt’s employee incentive program target indicative of the company launching something expected to earn significant money.
As Eurogamer notes, CD Projekt doesn’t really have anything else expected to fit the bill, with The Witcher 4 not set for launch until 2027 at the earliest, and Cyberpunk 2 after that. Work on a new IP is also ongoing, but even further off.
There’s a possibility still that this could relate to some other, smaller Witcher spinoff, but with all the smoke around a Witcher 3 expansion now rising, everything looks to be pointing in the same direction.
As “full production” on The Witcher 4 continues, CD Projekt has cautioned fans not to expect its launch in 2026, as the company plans an ambitious six-year roadmap in which it will also launch The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6. Before all of that, there’s a window this year for even more Witcher, and a fresh slice of content that could potentially help bridge the gap.
A new DLC feels like a smart idea to reawaken lapsed interest ahead of the series’ next chapter, via extra content sold to The Witcher 3’s existing audience of more than 60 million players. This content could be used as a reason to sell the game anew, to bring fresh fans to the decade-old role-player, and potentially set up plot points to be expanded upon in the franchise’s eventual sequels.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
