It's hard to accept that The Witcher 3 is the final instalment in CD Projekt's RPG trilogy: it's a hugely successful series, and usually when a series is hugely successful a studio (and especially its publisher) wants to capitalize on it. Don't hold your breath though, because even though the series may have a future, it won't come to fruition for a very long time.

Speaking to Eurogamer, studio co-founder Marcin Iwinski was not ambiguous about the game's forthcoming Blood & Wine expansion being the end of the line. "As we said before, never say never [but] right now it's really Blood and Wine. This is the end," he said.

"Blood and Wine is [the] closing and there won't be any Witcher any time soon - if there ever will be one. And I would really like to see how people feel about it, if they will enjoy it."

Look, I love The Witcher, but I'm pretty happy for CD Projekt to move on. The Witcher 3 is about as good as a modern, big budget, open world fantasy RPG gets, and now I want the studio to tackle an incredibly ambitious science fiction version of their brilliant formula. Oh, and would you look at that, Cyberpunk 2077 exists. It'll likely take a long time, though.

"Blood and Wine has an impressive stat sheet: 90 new quests, 20 new monsters, 100 pieces of armour, an upgradeable vineyard [and] new mutations," Tom Senior wrote in his preview of the expansion, which releases May 31.

It's easy to get the impression through most of the new Witcher 3: Blood and Wine trailer that CD Projekt is showing off. Or maybe it's more of a victory lap; a trip to Disneyland after spending the better part of a decade wallowing in the worst excesses of low fantasy. Either way, it sure is pretty. Until it isn't.

My favorite part of the video has to be the moment when Geralt strides toward the hulking, windmill-smashing monster with a tired, slightly bored, and entirely unimpressed look on his face. But the real problem in Toussaint is something entirely different and more sinister, and definitely not to be taken so lightly.

But it is a lovely land, isn't it? I'm really looking forward to seeing what CDPR does with it. The previous Witcher releases have given us some stunning eye candy, but the seeming shift away from the day-to-day misery of the peasant class is a real change of pace. Monsters must die, sure, but who says you can't have fresh air, sunshine, and nice things, too?

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine comes out on May 31. Have a look at our hands-on preview here.

The best monster slaying series on PC is up to 85% off at GOG.com until June 1. And wouldn't you know it, The Witcher 3's second expansion, Blood and Wine, releases May 31 rather convenient for the thrifty witcher.

As you'd expect, the biggest discounts are on the back catalogue. The Witcher 1 and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings get the full 85% discount. So does The Witcher Adventure Game, the digital adaptation of The Witcher Board Game.

The Witcher 3 has a smaller but substantial 50% markdown. If you're binging, The Witcher 3 and its expansions together get 33% off. And finally, if you just want a good deal on either expansion, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine can be bought separately at 10% below RRP. I'll let you penny-pinchers in on a secret though Blood and Wine is actually 10p cheaper on Steam.

Own up, then: who cast Axii on CDPR?

We recently got some hands-on time with The Witcher 3 expansion Blood and Wine, and it looks like it's going to be a worthy conclusion to the series: Geralt arrives in the fairy tale realm of Toussaint, but instead of the expected wine, women, and song, it's monsters, monsters... and monsters. The new developer diary released today reveals even more about what's ahead, and even though this is Geralt's swang song, he won't have an easy time of it.

Toussaint is almost startlingly beautiful, and Geralt cleans up pretty well too. But naturally, all is not as it appears. The city of Beauclair was built on what you might call sub-optimal real estate, and that's led to all sorts of problems bigger problems than you might expect.

For the Witcher, this won't be just another fight. It'll be the fight, writer Tomasz Marchewka explains in the video. The enemy you'll face, it'll be a bigger challenge than anything the Witcher's dealt with before.

Interestingly, while Blood and Wine will be the final expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz told Eurogamer that he hopes to come back to it someday. "Personally I hope that someday in the future we will do something more because I love the setting and [I've worked] on The Witcher games around 12 years right now," he said. "But I don't know what we will decided. The strategy plan they've got they will share with us soon. We'll see."

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine comes out on May 31.

If you want to know more about the soon-to-be-released Witcher 3 expansion Blood and Wine, which sounds awfully close to a full-on Witcher game in its own right, have a look at our spoiler-free preview that went up earlier today. And if you'd prefer to eyeball some gorgeous scenery, listen to a spot of lovely music, and maybe suffer through a few flashbacks to the hideous man-eater skulking in the shadows, waiting for your guard to drop, then pop this way instead.

It's clearly a teaser, not a trailer, and the exact opposite of full-blown cinematics like Killing Monsters or A Night to Remember. But that's okay. By now, we have a pretty good idea of how Geralt rolls, and how he always seems able to stumble over trouble, even in beautiful places like Toussaint. We know how this story goes, right?

CD Projekt says Blood and Wine will represent the end of Geralt's witchering days. If that means a proper retirement, rather than a grisly death at the hands of some nocturnal horror, then he's certainly picked a lovely place for it. Except for, you know, that nocturnal horror hiding in the rafters. But I'm sure that'll work itself out eventually.

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine comes out on May 31. Now seriously, read our preview.