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Gaming

CD Projekt Draws Line in Sand: Songs of the Past Is Expansion, Not DLC

Emily Chen 0 comments 7 min read
CD Projekt Draws Line in Sand: Songs of the Past Is Expansion, Not DLC

CD Projekt Red is making a forceful distinction ahead of The Witcher 3's next major content release. Songs of the Past, announced this week as coming to the 2015 fantasy RPG in 2027, is an expansion, not DLC, the studio insists, and staffers have been remarkably vocal about the semantic difference.

The clarification matters because CD Projekt's definition carries real implications for scope. In the studio's framework, DLC means free cosmetic additions or small bonus content. Expansions are something else entirely: substantial story experiences with new characters, locations, and dozens of hours of gameplay.

Paweł Sasko, Associate Game Director on the upcoming Cyberpunk 2, leaned on an IGN interview with actor Idris Elba to make the case. Elba, who played Solomon Reed in Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion, spoke directly to the company's philosophy. "It's not DLC. It's an expansion. You know why? Because we do expansions: Big! Massive! Monster! We don't do DLCs, and when we do, we give them away," Elba said in the clip Sasko circulated.

Marcin Łukaszewski, the studio's Community and Social Media Manager, reinforced the message in a separate response to fan questions. "For us at CDPR, DLCs are small pieces of content we release for free, like the additional outfits for The Witcher 3," he tweeted. "Expansions, on the other hand, are major pieces of content providing lots of hours of gameplay, including new story, characters, etc."

Songs of the Past marks the third expansion for The Witcher 3, arriving 12 years after the game's 2015 launch and a decade after Blood and Wine released in 2016. The new adventure will return players to monster slayer Geralt of Rivia and is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

CD Projekt has offered little detail beyond that official description, leaving fans to speculate about scale and setting. One report has suggested the expansion could feature a location styled after the fictional desert world from Dune, though the studio hasn't confirmed this.

The announcement comes as CD Projekt navigates an ambitious slate of future projects. The Witcher 4 is in production with a target launch no earlier than 2027, followed by a six-year roadmap that includes The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6. Cyberpunk 2, meanwhile, sits further back in the queue, with co-CEO Michał Nowakowski indicating it won't arrive until at least 2030. The studio has ruled out further DLC for Cyberpunk, directing players to wait for the sequel to return to the franchise's dystopian setting.

Author Emily Chen: "It's smart branding, honestly, but CD Projekt's definition only matters if Songs of the Past actually delivers on the 'big and massive' promise."

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