While The Witcher 3 is officially receiving a new expansion, modders are working to restore omitted content.

The WAR Project Team has released a demo of its ambitious mod of the same name for The Witcher 3. This mod aims to restore an extensive series of quests that were originally developed by CD Projekt RED (CDPR) under the internal codename WAR and then cut from the base game. The original WAR story revolves around Geralt, Roche, and his partisans attempting to stop a Nilfgaardian doctor named Hector Kraft-Ebbing. It also featured characters such as Thaler, Ves, Iorveth, and Vincent Meis, making it one of the most politically focused and faction-driven quest lines in the game’s development history.

According to project notes, the story was cut in late 2014 because the mission series was too early in development to be completed in time for release. Some elements remained in modified form in the final game, particularly in the An Eye for an Eye and Reason of State missions. On May 21, 2024, CDPR released the REDKit tool, which allows modders to mine data from the game’s string database. This enables them to view the complete written script and properly understand the events of the original missions.

The WAR project consists of a major main storyline and a smaller package of side content. Currently playable content includes the missions Partisans and Vultures, No Man’s Land Investigation, Unusual Impressions, and the rewritten An Eye for an Eye. Other missions, including Political Games, Taken, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Dr. Hector’s Secrets, the rewritten Reason of State, and numerous side missions, are still under development or not yet available. Consequently, the mod takes on the structure of a long-term restoration project rather than a simple mission pack. The final version of the mod is expected to be released in 2027 and offer over ten hours of gameplay.

One of the most ambitious aspects of the project is the plan to restore the WAR-associated world areas. After the original mission series was cut short, CDPR reportedly had to quickly redesign the locations and fill them with points of interest and other content. This mod restores these areas to their original layout, including the Plague Pit and the Nilfgaardian Officer’s rest house near the Army Group Center camp. The modder notes that, after completing the WAR missions, players can restore the world to a more vanilla-friendly state if they wish to continue normal exploration.

The WAR Project modifies or disables elements of the base version of The Witcher 3 that no longer fit into the game. The An Eye for an Eye and Reason of State quests are completely rewritten, and A Deadly Plot is removed because Thaler’s role is expanded much earlier in the restored storyline. The next-gen mission In the Eternal Fire’s Shadow will also be removed because the mod restores Devil’s Pit to its original role as a critical story location. Additionally, Funeral Pyres, as well as the beginnings of Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, will be delayed or restricted to avoid conflicting with the restored questline.

Look for the demo on Nexus Mods!

Source: WCCFTech, Nexus Mods