Video summary

I investigated the new Witcher 3 expansion — Here’s What I Found

Main summary

Key takeaways

Gaming

Storyline / Lore Connections

  • Expansion announced: The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past — confirmed as a full expansion (not a DLC or patch), featuring Geralt, releasing next year.
  • Core thematic hints from the key art:
    • Geralt wears standard Kaer Morhen armor and is shown with three swords, suggesting the story may focus on one specific sword.
    • A large tree-based monster towers behind him. The speaker argues it fits better with the book-described “oak” tree monster (Treant / “oakcritter”) than a standard leshen.

Belleteyn (Beltane) artwork connection

  • CDPR previously posted Belleteyn-themed artwork featuring Geralt and Dandelion in an outdoor/woodland scene.
  • That earlier artwork includes the same distinctive sword shown in the Songs of the Past announcement art.
  • It may also include a similarly shaped “hand”/tree-monster element in the background.
  • During a Blood & Wine anniversary livestream, CDPR confirmed that the Belleteyn artwork connects to the new expansion, and that the shown sword is important to the story.

Cidaris rumor (placement speculation)

  • The speaker discusses an older rumor that Songs of the Past may take place in/around Cidaris, a small kingdom west of Velen built on ruins of an elvish city.
  • They connect this idea to Dandelion’s ties to the region, since (in book/short story material) Dandelion is hired by the king of Cidaris.

Gameplay / Content Highlights and Confirmed Features

  • Scale: CDPR confirmed during the Blood & Wine livestream that Songs of the Past is similar in size to Blood & Wine.
    • The speaker argues this implies a substantial new area/map, potentially approaching Blood & Wine-level content.
  • New Gwent content: The expansion will include new Gwent content (noted as expected, then reinforced in the livestream context).
  • Marketing / reveal timing:
    • CDPR planned to announce during a Blood & Wine anniversary livestream, but the expansion name leaked early via the PC launcher, forcing an earlier full reveal.

Key Tips / Strategy-Adjacent Notes

  • The speaker doesn’t provide typical in-game strategies. Instead, the “tips” focus on interpreting lore and art cues.
  • Main takeaway:
    • Focus on the sword in Geralt’s hands (not the two “marketing swords” on his back).
  • Cross-referencing existing assets:
    • Use existing Witcher 3 sword models to infer plot elements.
    • The distinctive sword’s crossguard/pommel design is linked to Elven swords already present in the game (with specific elven sword names discussed).

Important Visual Evidence

Three-sword setup

  • Two swords on Geralt’s back are treated as default marketing swords:
    • Witcher’s Steel and Witcher’s Silver Swords, added with the next-gen update, purchasable from Top Notch Swords in Novigrad.
  • The one in Geralt’s hands is argued to be a deliberate storytelling hint, tied to existing elven swords in Witcher 3.
    • The speaker points to matching crossguard geometry (three-circle ends) and pommel motifs found in elven silver swords such as Hav’caaren and Melltith.

Tree monster identity debate

  • The monster is not fully concluded to be a leshen.
  • Instead, it’s argued to resemble the oak/tree-horror from the books (Treant / “oakcritter”).
  • Evidence cited includes a large central hole in the creature’s body visible in the key art.

Sources / Referenced Entities

  • No individual gamers/streamers/YouTube personalities are explicitly credited as “featured.”
  • Entities referenced include:
    • CD Projekt Red (CDPR)
    • Fool’s Theory
    • Gwent

Original video