The third expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, titled The Witcher: A Ballad of Past Songs, is scheduled for release in 2027 and will introduce new regions, monsters, and stories. Miles Tost, Lead Level Designer at CD Projekt Red, and writer Paula Meissner discussed the design philosophy behind the new region, Lettin.
The team currently has no plans to add new movement mechanics for the expansion, but instead hopes to shape Lettin's regional identity through terrain, traversal methods, and cultural background. This approach is similar to Skellige's sailing and mountains, or No Man's Land's open spaces.
Lettin's noble culture shows British influences, while its rural landscapes draw heavily from Polish elements. The local Bracket alcohol is made by blending honey and beer, with honey and hops forming part of the region's production and economy. This setting also extends to the monster ecology; the new monster Swarmion featured in the demo loves honey and uses hornets to protect itself.
During narrative and lore creation, the team continues to coordinate with CDPR's world-building department regarding the books, games, and other series content. Developers stated that they will not directly rewrite existing lore, but will expand the worldview when they can provide reasonable explanations, similar to their approach when bringing Regis back previously.
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It has been over ten years since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt first launched, but CD Projekt Red does not seem to have completely finished developing the game. The game's third expansion, A Ballad of Past Songs, is expected to launch in 2027. At that time, players will be able to explore a brand-new region, hunt new monsters, and experience more stories.
However, adding new content to a beloved game like The Witcher 3 without alienating dedicated fans is no easy task. The development team also faces another challenge: the world has accumulated decades of lore, and they must remain faithful to it while keeping the new content fresh.
During the Lucca Comics & Games festival, IGN interviewed Miles Tost, Lead Level Designer at CD Projekt Red, and Paula Meissner, writer for A Ballad of Past Songs. They discussed how to create a new region with its own identity on The Witcher continent, why local alcohol influences the entire region's design, and why bringing a character back from the dead doesn't necessarily break canonical lore.
IGN asked, "Will A Ballad of Past SongsWill A Ballad of Past Songs introduce any special new mechanics through its level design, and what environmental changes will allow veteran players of The Witcher 3 to discover something new?.
Tost stated that the most significant new content is an entirely new region. Players who have experienced the base game and other expansions should know that CD Projekt Red has always emphasized the unique characteristics of different areas. The team wants each region to be different, not just visually, but also in how players feel when moving and exploring within them.
For example, the Skellige Isles are mountainous, and players often need to travel by boat; No Man's Land is much more open. As for Lettin in A Ballad of Past Songs, players can also feel the unique characteristics of the region as they move around. According to Tost, the game does not introduce new movement mechanics, but the team places great emphasis on how players feel when entering a region, hoping they clearly realize they are in a place with distinct features.
Regional differences are also reflected in culture. The residents of Lettin have their own cultural background. The local nobility is influenced by British culture, while also incorporating many Polish rural elements, which can be seen in the local architecture. The team usually considers the cultural identity of each region in depth. For instance, Skellige is more influenced by Viking-like culture, while the people of Lettin have their own alcohol.
This drink is called Bracket, a beverage combining honey and beer. While the alcohol itself might seem like a small detail, it is very important to the development team because it helps define the characteristics of the entire region.
Brewing Bracket requires honey and hops, so players will find both in Lettin. This alcohol is both a cultural export and a major pillar of the local economy. It even influences how the development team designs local monsters.
In the demos shown so far, the team has introduced a new monster called the Swarmion. This creature has a strong affinity for honey and uses hornets to protect itself. The developers first consider what kind of monsters would fit the environment, then design them accordingly. Since Lettin is rich in honey, the presence of the Swarmion here makes perfect sense.
The locals have their own type of alcohol. While this may seem like a minor detail, it actually influences the entire region. Everythinggj from crops and the economy to monster design can be linked to it. Tost stated that this is one of the ways the team makes each location feel unique, with these influences extending further into quests and storytelling.
IGN then asked whether, given The Witcher series' deep lore and extensive established canon, the team encountered any particularly difficult continuity issues while developing A Ballad of Past Songs, and whether they had to modify existing canon to make the new story work.
Meissner mentioned that CDPR has an excellent lore team, and the developers of A Ballad of Past Songs have been working closely with them. This team is familiar with every detail from the books, every detail from each game, and various details from other content in the series.
Developers communicate with them regularly to avoid writing anything obviously inconsistent and to ensure new stories remain faithful to existing lore. However, this question is difficult to answer in detail because it involves some undisclosed content. Meissner could only confirm that the team did face challenges, but she wasn't sure how much she could reveal at present.
Tost stated that the team's overall approach is to keep pushing the series forward and keeping new content fresh. They don't just stop at asking "Can we do this?", but go further to think: If we decide to do it, how should we provide a reasonable explanation?
He cited Regis as an example. Before the release of Blood and Wine, if the development team had directly told players that they were bringing Regis back, many hardcore fans might have thought it was impossible, since the character had been completely vaporized. The development team themselves asked the same question.
In the end, they found a solution that was both expected and logical: Regis did return, but with only about 10% of his power, and he is still slowly recovering. He was only able to recover because another Higher Vampire helped him.
Even Geralt himself might think this sounds like simply bringing Regis back from the dead. But Tost believes that as long as the reason is clearly explained and fits the world's internal logic, such a treatment can work.
This has always been the team's approach. They don't truly want to go back and change established lore, but if they can find a reasonable explanation, they will try interesting ways to expand the series and add new content within the existing framework.
Meissner also mentioned that when discussing these difficulties with the lore department, the team often raises a question: "What would Andrzej Sapkowski, the original author of The Witcher, do?"
She noted that if you look back at the original Witcher stories and lore, you'll find they were always a mix of various elements. Sapkowski himself often displays a rather casual attitude when answering such questions in interviews. Therefore, when the team encounters difficult continuity problems, asking "What would Sapkowski do?" sometimes becomes their final justification, and it does help them resolve issues at times.