Rumor claims new The Witcher 3 DLC could take place in the region of Zerrikania

New The Witcher 3 DLC is rumored to be in development, with reports suggesting it could release in 2026. The DLC is believed to tie into The Witcher 4, and IGN Poland now reports that it has been aware of rumors surrounding the expansion for years. According to the outlet, the DLC could take place in the region of Zerrikania.

Courtesy of a translation shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit, IGN Poland reports, “We knew about the work on a potential new [The Witcher 3] expansion behind the scenes a long time ago,” thanks to an informant “who has repeatedly provided us with reliable behind-the-scenes information”.

IGN Poland adds that “there were many indications that the developers were keenly interested in exploring Zerrikania”. While the outlet believes the DLC would “most likely take us to the desert,” it cautions that “internal plans may have changed many times, [and] the folder labelled Zerrikania may have been replaced with one labelled ‘Kovir’ or something else entirely”.

Although Zerrikania is not guaranteed, IGN Poland says that “considering how convinced our sources were about the work on ‘something new’ years ago, and how often the topic of the east appeared in our analyses and sources, we cannot ignore this lead”.

IGN Poland reveals that they've known about the rumored Witcher 3 DLC "years ago" and that it might introduce a whole new region
byu/Wooden_Twist7521 inGamingLeaksAndRumours

The Witcher 3 explores several regions, including Velen, Novigrad, and the Skellige Isles. Zerrikania would be an entirely new area for the game. In lore, the region lies east of the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire and is surrounded by mountains and deserts. It is home to a matriarchal society where women hold positions of power, and alongside powerful warrior women, it features cults that worship dragons.

The Witcher 3 DLC is rumored to release in May 2026

CD Projekt RED has not announced new DLC for The Witcher 3, but the expansion is expected to release in May 2026, according to Noble Securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski. The Polish analyst believes the DLC will be “another paid add-on,” with projected sales of 11 million copies at $30.

Chrzanowski also suggests the DLC could “kick off the actual marketing campaign for The Witcher 4”. CD Projekt RED revealed The Witcher 4 at The Game Awards 2024, confirming that the game stars Ciri as its protagonist, replacing Geralt from The Witcher 3.

According to Polish leakers Borys Nieśpielak and Remigiusz Maciaszek, via PCGamesN, the DLC is reportedly being developed by Fool’s Theory, a studio made up of former CD Projekt RED staff. Fool’s Theory is also officially working on The Witcher 1 remake, announced in 2022.

The last major expansion for The Witcher 3 was Blood and Wine, which launched in May 2016. If a new expansion arrives in May 2026, its release would be exactly ten years later. This would also be an appropriate time for CD Projekt RED to release the previously announced mod support for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

As for The Witcher 4, CD Projekt has informed fans it will not be released before 2027. CD Projekt RED has responded to criticism of the game starring Ciri, promising fans who are sceptical that they remain “beholden to the lore” of the books and that Ciri offers “really exciting opportunities” for gameplay.

So far, CD Projekt RED has only shown a technical demo of The Witcher 4, which highlights the power of Unreal Engine 5 compared to REDengine 3, the graphics engine used for The Witcher 3. The demo runs at 60 FPS with ray tracing enabled on a base PS5.