The phenomenon surrounding Geralt of Rivia simply has no expiration date. At this year’s Gamescom 2026, the massive appeal of CD Projekt Red’s global brand remains impressive, even 11 years after its initial release. With the launch of a new main story expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past and the announcement of a free remaster, the developer stood out from the competition at Cologne. Current assessments of wishlist activity show that the upcoming DLC easily surpasses all new games announced at the show, taking the undisputed spot at the top of players’ wishlists.
The reveal of the remake as part of Gamescom’s opening night was like a bombshell in the global gaming community. Post-trade data analysis shows that the release of Songs of the Past quickly generated more new wishlist entries than any other game on platforms like Steam.
The add-on relegates high-profile new announcements and heavyweight games to a lower ranking: in second place is role-playing project Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons with about 379,000 new entries, followed by open-world game Ananta with about 302,000 pre-orders. Projects like Lego Skylines (273,000) or Heroes of Might and Magic III Remastered (189,000) also lost out to The Witcher.
It’s definitely rare in the industry for a content expansion for a game that’s over a decade old to take on such a large role in the space, and it underscores the fascination with the universe. In “Song of the Past”, you will once again put on the armor of Geralt of Rivia and start a mature new chapter, leading to the new Latvian Empire and becoming the bridge to the upcoming “The Witcher 4”.
CD Projekt Red’s clever dual strategy explains this enthusiasm in particular. While the paid DLC Songs of the Past will be released in 2027, all owners of the main game will receive a fully revamped free remaster on September 29, 2026. Among other things, this brings improved graphics, AI optimizations, and a revised combat system.
