Songs Of The Past Already Hides A Massive Witcher 4 Setup In Plain Sight

In Songs of the Past‘s official key art, Geralt of Rivia carries a third sword on his back. The detail is anything but throwaway, since witchers traditionally wield only 2 blades, one in steel and one in silver. The golden twisted hilt and red leather scabbard of this mystery weapon look strikingly close to Zireael‘s. That’s the very sword Ciri is seen carrying in the first The Witcher 4 trailers. Fans connected the 2 artworks on the official subreddit within hours of the reveal.

CD Projekt RED has indirectly confirmed how big this mystery actually is. Senior Community Manager Laura Beitzel stated the weapon is « a very important sword for the story », without spilling any more. The studio also confirmed it’s the exact same blade glimpsed in an earlier Belleteyn illustration. Geralt is clearly hauling around something meant for his adoptive daughter, which turns Songs of the Past into a full-blown prologue to The Witcher 4‘s handover.

The other big fan find centers on the Belleteyn festival, a cornerstone of CDPR‘s marketing rollout. Belleteyn Night is a key beat in Witcher lore straight out of Andrzej Sapkowski‘s novels. It’s tied both to the Geralt and Yennefer relationship and to the moment the witcher embraces his destiny with Ciri. CD Projekt RED has stacked clues around the festival, and each one points to a different character in the mythic trio.

First clue, the Belleteyn illustration the studio dropped on April 30, 2026 shows Dandelion mid-celebration, lute in hand. The bard was completely missing from the previous Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions. Second clue, a poem CD Projekt RED published around the Belleteyn celebration. The text explicitly mentions the fate of a « lion cub » written in the stars. That reference points squarely to the Lion Cub of Cintra, Ciri‘s historic nickname. Third clue, that same poem brings up a scent of « lilac and gooseberries », Yennefer‘s signature perfume since the Sapkowski novels. Laura Beitzel told fans to « keep looking for clues » during the Blood and Wine 10th anniversary livestream. The studio is indirectly validating the community’s theories.

Songs of the Past is officially locked in for 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with no last-gen or Nintendo Switch versions in the mix. The expansion is co-developed by CD Projekt RED and Fool’s Theory, a studio stacked with veterans who shipped the original The Witcher 3. The same crew is also working on the upcoming Witcher trilogy remake. CDPR is promising a full-fat expansion in the Blood and Wine mold, with several hours of brand-new adventure.

A first gameplay reveal is set for Gamescom 2026, with more details slated for late summer. This expansion follows months of relentless rumors about a Witcher 3 DLC originally pegged for 2026 pushed back by a year to clear the runway for The Witcher 4, where Ciri will officially take over as the franchise’s lead. The handover from Geralt to his adoptive daughter is shaping up as the biggest narrative moment in the video game saga since day one.