Songs of the Past Could Explain Ciri's Witcher Transformation

Correction, July 29, 2026: an earlier version blurred official information and speculation, presenting an unannounced Ciri storyline, a new region, download size, location theories, and a May release as if they were confirmed. They are not. This version separates CD Projekt's public record from the theory that Songs of the Past could bridge Ciri's story into The Witcher 4.

What we actually know

Songs of the Past is a full Witcher 3 expansion planned for 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles. CD Projekt is co-developing it with Fool's Theory, the studio also handling the first Witcher remake. In the company's Q1 2026 earnings transcript, joint CEO Michal Nowakowski said roughly 190 people, mostly at Fool's Theory, were involved and described the scope as closer to Blood and Wine. He did not confirm a new region or a 15 to 20 GB download, so those earlier claims have been removed.

The expansion will raise the PC requirements and leave the previous-generation console versions behind, according to CD Projekt's official support notice. That confirms technical change, not its creative cause. It would be speculation to infer a particular map, ray-tracing feature, or engine overhaul solely from a requirements table.

The endings problem

The expansion is walking a tightrope because The Witcher 3 ends with several major player choices, while The Witcher 4 has already selected Ciri as its protagonist. CD Projekt has only said Songs of the Past works indirectly as a reminder or prologue for the next game. It has not said the expansion will canonize one ending, explain every political outcome, or show Ciri undergoing her mutations. Any bridge between the games remains a theory.

Those endings leave narrative room because none prevents a writer from reconnecting Ciri with the path shown later. Room is not proof. The earlier article cited a leaked letter without an original source and treated possible choices around the Empress ending as evidence. They are better understood as examples of how a continuation might reconcile player history, not clues about the expansion's actual plot.

The thing I can't get past: the Trial of the Grasses

The Witcher 4 shows Ciri as a professional monster hunter with mutated eyes. In an official Xbox Wire interview, the development team says she went through the Trial of the Grasses between the games. The trilogy was painfully clear that the Trial is lethal, which is why that change cannot be a shrug. The open question is whether Songs of the Past addresses it or whether the answer belongs entirely to The Witcher 4.

So how does it happen? I keep circling two possibilities that would actually earn the moment instead of skipping it.

1. Grief and revenge. Geralt and Yennefer die, and a hollowed-out Ciri takes the Trial almost daring it to kill her. If she lives, she comes out the other side with the power to hunt whoever's responsible. Written well, that is powerful material. It's also heavy as lead, and I don't buy that CD Projekt has the nerve to kill Geralt off in a Witcher 3 add-on.
2. Kidnapped and mutated. Some obsessed villain trying to rebuild the Witcher schools takes Ciri and forces the mutation on her against her will, and the expansion becomes the rescue. Cleaner, less bleak, and it keeps Geralt firmly in the 'never would have allowed this' camp where he belongs. This is the one I'd put money on.

What I don't want, and what would actually wreck it for me, is Ciri becoming a Witcher just because the plot needs her to be one. A 'just because' answer wouldn't just disappoint me, it'd be the biggest letdown since Cyberpunk, and that one came from this exact studio. They know the difference. They just have to prove they still care about it.

Swords, a strange monster, and where we're headed

The official REDstream gives speculation a firmer boundary. CD Projekt confirmed that the sword shown in promotional material matters to the story and that new Gwent cards are planned. It did not identify the sword as Melltith, explain the creature, or say memories become a gameplay mechanic. The archived official stream is the source; interpretations about mind-altering monsters belong on the theory side of the line.

The location is unannounced. Dol Blathanna, Cidaris, and Brokilon are fan possibilities, not reported destinations, and the earlier version gave those names more weight than the evidence allowed. The strongest responsible inference is simply that a Geralt-led expansion close to Blood and Wine in scope has enough room to revisit old relationships. Which relationships and where they unfold remain CD Projekt's information to reveal.

Romance creates the same caution. No official source has declared Yennefer's ending canon for this expansion. Any return to Geralt's life should respect imported choices where possible and state clearly where a continuation needs one history. The only announced timing is 2027. A May release tied to Belleteyn was fan math, not a date, and has been removed.

Songs of the Past has everything it needs to be a proper send-off: a serious team, a real budget, and a story worth telling. But all of it hinges on that one call. Handle Ciri's mutation with the weight the trilogy gave it, and this could be the best thing CD Projekt has shipped in years. Treat it as a checkbox on the road to The Witcher 4, and no sword, no monster, and no stack of Gwent cards will save it. They don't get to fumble Ciri twice.