The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's newly announced third expansion is not being treated like a small nostalgia add-on. CD Projekt says Songs of the Past is now in an advanced phase of production, with around 190 developers working on it.
That figure is striking because it puts the expansion near the scale of the team that built the original game. In a previous interview, former Witcher 3 game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz said The Witcher 3 averaged around 160 developers, rising to about 205 closer to launch when the Cyberpunk 2077 team joined the project.
The make-up of the Songs of the Past team is different, though. During CD Projekt's Q1 2026 earnings presentation, joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said most of those developers are coming from Fool's Theory, the external studio co-developing the expansion with CD Projekt RED.
"I can share that the expansion is now in an advanced phase of production. Around 190 developers, most of them from our trusted partners at Fool's Theory, are currently working with us on the project. At the same time, CD Projekt Red provides the creative oversight to safeguard the quality of the Witcher experience."
CD Projekt's own announcement describes Fool's Theory as a team that includes industry veterans who worked on The Witcher 3. The split suggests Songs of the Past is being led heavily by the partner studio, while CD Projekt RED keeps creative oversight on Geralt's return.
Why the team size stands out
Songs of the Past was announced last week as the third expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, more than a decade after the base game first launched. It is coming in 2027 to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with CD Projekt saying more details will arrive in late summer 2026.
The expansion brings players back as Geralt of Rivia for a new adventure. That already makes it a major follow-up for a game that has now sold more than 65 million copies, but the staffing number gives a clearer sense of ambition. CD Projekt has also been comparing expectations to Blood and Wine, the much-loved second Witcher 3 expansion, rather than framing Songs of the Past as a minor epilogue.
The timing is notable, too. Songs of the Past sits between the legacy of The Witcher 3 and CD Projekt's next mainline entry, with the studio already positioning it as a loose prologue for The Witcher 4. CD Projekt has confirmed The Witcher 4 will star Ciri, while Songs of the Past is Geralt's next starring role.
There are still plenty of unknowns. CD Projekt has not detailed the story, timeline or exact location, and it has not said how many CD Projekt RED staff are assigned full-time to the expansion rather than providing oversight. What is clear is that Songs of the Past has a far larger production footprint than its late arrival might suggest.