Stop Comparing It to Blood and Wine—Steam’s Vampire Game Looks Like a Hit

Whenever players argue about the best game expansions ever made, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine almost always enters the conversation. While Hearts of Stone may have the tighter, more consistently praised narrative, Blood and Wine still delivers a strong story alongside an unforgettable open-world stretch in Toussaint. The vampire-themed expansion is loaded with memorable side missions, clever nods to classic fairy-tale material, and standout non-player characters. It also adds a mutation-based progression layer that expands Geralt’s RPG build options. More than a decade later, another Witcher 3 add-on is on the way—but if you were hoping for something that matches Blood and Wine beat-for-beat, you may want to look at Steam’s Kalyskah instead.

Even though Witcher 3’s 2027 farewell to Geralt, Songs of the Past, could still be a substantial, high-quality content drop comparable in scale to Blood and Wine, it’s unlikely to reuse the same enemy roster or thematic focus. The title points toward a retrospective of Geralt’s earlier years as a monster hunter, and the expectation is that the expansion will include plenty of character-driven moments. That’s because it’s meant to function as a real handoff from Geralt of Rivia to Witcher 4’s new central figure, Ciri. The expansion’s mention of Belletyn—Yennefer’s hometown—also suggests players won’t be wandering a vampire-saturated fantasy setting this time around. For anyone who specifically wants that kind of vampiric content right now, though, Kalyskah is already designed around it, giving players direct control of a seductive, formidable vampire.

The Steam listing for Kalyskah currently points to a broad release window in 2026, which means it may land at any moment during that year.

A senior figure at CD Projekt Red also expressed the view that the studio’s Cyberpunk 2077 comeback story may not be finished yet, even if Witcher 4 ultimately becomes the next major step in the company’s long-term redemption arc.

Kalyskah Features at a Glance

• Dynamic combat paired with fully voiced quests for a more immersive experience.
• Progression systems built to support meaningful character upgrades over time.
• Stealth and seduction options, letting players choose how to tackle objectives.
• Quest outcomes that depend on how you decide to resolve things—serving yourself or helping humanity.
• An open-world structure where you can roam, meet new people, face threats, and find alternate gear for the protagonist.

In Kalyskah, you play as a vampire in a dark fantasy open-world RPG. You’ll make decisions that tilt the outcome toward humanity’s benefit—or toward your own goals—while improving vampiric abilities to take on bandits, trolls, and undead enemies.

Kalyskah’s Witcher Similarities Are Hard to Miss

Kalyskah follows a setup that will feel familiar to Witcher fans: you take the role of the titular vampire, and she’s described as the first of her kind. That means she naturally accumulated power, eventually raising an army of other vampires who follow her direction. But then everything collapses—she’s betrayed and left for dead, and she spends the aftermath in amnesia, much like Geralt of Rivia’s situation in The Witcher games. Over time, she starts regaining memories. As that happens, she recruits allies to rebuild her forces and, presumably, uses the rebuilt empire to go after revenge.

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One of the reasons Blood and Wine became such a fan favorite was Geralt’s villa: a real home base where players could decorate and display trophies from their adventures. Kalyskah appears to include a similar feature. Players will be able to secure and decorate a hideout in Thulgatha, giving the vampire a personal base for customization. That’s only one point of overlap between Kalyskah and The Witcher 3. The game also seems to include threat tracking using vampiric abilities reminiscent of Witcher Senses, and it reportedly provides new outfit options as you explore the open world.

Like other Witcher-adjacent experiences, Kalyskah is positioned as a heavily choice-driven RPG. It looks like players can shape whether the vampire learns from her past and tries to become better—or embraces a more selfish path, becoming a dictator who rules her people with an iron grip. Seduction is listed as a usable tool both in dialogue and gameplay, potentially functioning in a way similar to the bluff mechanic seen in 007 First Light. Stealth systems are also expected, and the game’s skill tree is described as visually comparable to Blood and Wine’s mutation system.

Upcoming Releases

Kalyskah’s Early Access Launch and Wishlist Campaign Means It’s Only Getting Deeper

Because Kalyskah is an early access Steam title, the full game won’t be available when it arrives later this year. Instead, players will start with a smaller prologue region — a setup compared to Witcher 3’s White Orchard — alongside in-progress versions of most gameplay systems. As additional content is added over time, the game’s price will increase gradually. For players who want the complete experience right away, that likely means waiting another year or two for the full launch. Still, the early access description, combined with the wishlist milestone image, suggests there are more layered systems to look forward to.

Immersive sim fans may especially like the details around feeding: the game apparently requires Kalyskah to feed on humans for blood, and it also includes a fleshed-out sunlight mechanic designed to push vampires indoors. The system is meant to prevent damage by forcing Kalyskah and other vampires to avoid direct exposure. There’s also an optional first-person mode, which should help vary how you experience the world. One of the milestone updates confirms that companions will be playable, and another points to a management system for Kalyskah’s legions—essentially a mini-game layer inside the broader RPG. A final milestone is still not reached in the current information set: a fully customizable castle for the vampire army. Until that arrives, players interested in the Steam release are encouraged to wishlist now, supporting the development of what’s being presented as an even deeper experience.