The Witcher 3 Remastered Will Arrive September 29 With a Free Upgrade

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered will arrive on September 29, 2026, giving players a new version of Geralt’s adventure on current-generation platforms. CD Projekt Red announced the release on August 25 during Gamescom 2026’s Opening Night Live, alongside a debut trailer and a brief look at the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion. The studio currently plans to release that add-on sometime in 2027, as detailed in its official announcement.

Rather than presenting the project as a small visual pass, the studio described it as a ground-up overhaul of the 2015 RPG. The remaster follows the game’s 2022 Next-Gen Update, but its work reaches beyond improved scenery, with changes planned for movement, combat, monster behavior, Witcher Signs, skills, gear, mounts, and photo tools. Level design lead Miles Tost, who also works on The Witcher 4, presented the update during the Gamescom showcase.

CD Projekt Red’s joint CEO Michał Nowakowski said the studio never considered charging players who already owned the game. In an interview with The Game Business, he described the remaster as an improvement to the RPG rather than a separate product, saying, “I don’t think it was ever a thought we even had.” He added that gifting the work to existing players was “the CDPR way.”

For new buyers, The Witcher 3 will remain a purchase, with both major expansions included in the package. The Complete Edition has also seen a price increase for new buyers, although Nowakowski did not discuss that change in the interview. Sales of Songs of the Past form another part of the commercial plan while the remaster remains a free upgrade for existing owners.

Work on the remaster grew out of development on Songs of the Past alongside Fool’s Theory. The teams initially discussed ways to update parts of the older RPG, then continued adding fixes and improvements until the project grew beyond a collection of small adjustments. That history helps explain why the update reaches into systems such as combat, progression, accessibility, and rendering rather than stopping at a conventional graphics upgrade.

The Witcher 3 Remastered release date and platforms

The remaster will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on September 29, 2026. PC players will be able to find it on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, while Battle.net will receive the game on the same day through a new CD Projekt Red and Blizzard partnership. The remaster will replace the current Complete Edition storefront listing when it launches.

Players who already own the game on qualifying platforms, including owners of the Complete Edition, will not need to buy the remaster again. The announced upgrade coverage includes GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Original Nintendo Switch owners will also be able to claim the native Switch 2 edition at no extra cost, including those with physical copies. The remaster is also available for pre-purchase on Battle.net and Nintendo Switch 2.

The Switch 2 release will be a separate download rather than a patch for the original Switch installation. It is estimated to require 43.4GB of storage, and it will support HDR output plus refresh rates of up to 120Hz on compatible displays. CD Projekt Red has not announced the edition’s final performance modes yet.

Xbox Play Anywhere will let digital owners access the game across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PCs, and compatible Xbox handhelds with the same purchase and save progression. PS5 Pro support is also confirmed, although its resolution, frame-rate, and ray-tracing modes remain undisclosed.

What The Witcher 3 Remastered will add

Geralt’s traversal and movement will receive quality-of-life improvements, including smoother animations for jumping and climbing. Revamped mount handling, including changes to Roach riding, should make journeys across the Continent feel smoother while giving players greater control when galloping. Updated monster AI will give encounters different behavior, with the trailer showing a griffin blocking an attack before countering as one example of the revised systems. The Witcher Signs will also receive new visual effects.

Combat will be revised with new attack animations and fresh finishers designed to make Geralt’s movements feel more precise. Closing the distance to enemies will be faster, and the reveal footage includes an execution performed with the Aard sign. Speaking with GamesRadar+, Tost described the goal as making combat “much more smooth and precise.”

An adaptive combat camera will change its distance based on the encounter. Smaller fights can use a closer view, while battles against larger groups will pull the camera back so more enemies stay visible. Geralt will also be able to switch targets while an animation is playing or while he is performing a strike, giving players more room to respond when an enemy moves or an encounter changes direction.

The ability system is receiving a full revamp, including a new Skill Tree with new perks and abilities and revisions to existing skills. The redesigned progression systems should give players more freedom in how they unlock and combine abilities while building their version of the White Wolf.

CD Projekt Red is adding an expanded photo mode with new poses, camera controls, frames, filters, and character models. The studio is also adding a transmog system. Transmog will let players keep the stats they want from their gear while changing Geralt’s appearance, meaning strong equipment no longer has to dictate his outfit.

The studio is reviewing the experience from the perspective of someone playing it for the first time. In comments shared with PC Gamer, executive producer of external projects Jakub Kutrzuba said the team reviewed the animation system, camera work, quality-of-life features, accessibility, enemy combat behavior, and road pathfinding. The goal is to make existing systems feel better and remove interruptions to the adventure’s flow without rebuilding the entire game or losing its core RPG experience.

Quest tracking, looting, and meditation are changing

The remaster will add new quest-tracking tools and a reworked looting system, although CD Projekt Red has not shown the final interfaces or explained every part of their functionality. The tutorial is also being modernized to better introduce combat, Signs, alchemy, and the other systems that define Geralt’s journey.

New accessibility features are confirmed, but the individual options have not been detailed. Menus are being changed as well, with UI improvements and improved menu navigation intended to make normal play less cumbersome. Immersive meditation appears to show the world continuing in a time-lapse instead of fading to black, although the trailer did not explain the feature in detail.

The trailer names 30 additional changes

The reveal trailer’s quick list includes everyday quality-of-life improvements alongside a substantial rendering pass:

• Cross-platform mod support
• Immersive meditation
• Refined animations
• New quest tracking
• UI improvements
• Looting rework
• Refreshed motion blur
• New accessibility features
• Updated textures
• Foliage shading rework, including denser, refreshed foliage
• Tutorial modernization
• HDR improvements
• GTAO
• Improved menu navigation
• Ray tracing improvements
• Global lighting rework
• New shading model
• Subsurface scattering
• New tone mapper
• PS5 Pro support
• Xbox Play Anywhere support
• Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive features
• Nvidia DLSS 4.5
• AMD FSR 4
• Intel XeSS 2.0
• Path tracing on PC
• Ray reconstruction on PC
• Raytraced hair
• Native DX12
• Rendering parallelization

New quest tracking could make it easier to manage Geralt’s growing list of objectives, while the UI, menu navigation, looting, tutorial, and accessibility updates should make the game less cumbersome to use during a normal playthrough.

Several technical entries, including the new shading model, tone mapper, subsurface scattering, and foliage shading rework, also need more detail before their practical impact can be judged. GTAO, or ambient occlusion, can improve contact shadows around objects and terrain, while subsurface scattering changes how light passes through materials such as skin. The tone mapper converts lighting and color data into the final image.

Console players will receive cross-platform mod support

Cross-platform mod support will extend beyond PC. Xbox Series X|S is specifically confirmed to support user-created quests, weapons, equipment, and balance changes, although CD Projekt Red has not explained the distribution and moderation systems across the supported platforms in full.

The 2022 version included selected community mods directly in the game, but it did not offer a mod browser. The remaster’s broader support could give players more ways to customize Geralt’s adventure after launch.

PC and console features in the free update

PC players will receive the most extensive rendering-focused portion of the update. The PC version will add full path tracing, placing a larger portion of each scene’s lighting calculations through ray tracing than the selective effects available in the current release. It will sit at the highest end of the remaster’s graphics settings.

Nvidia’s Ray Reconstruction will replace traditional denoisers in ray-traced scenes, while the game will support DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2.0. DLSS 4.5 will also support Ray Reconstruction. Native DirectX 12 support and rendering parallelization will also be part of the PC renderer.

Players using less powerful graphics cards will still see visual changes beyond path tracing. Environment, NPC, and monster textures will be updated, while foliage receives separate shading work. HDR and the tone mapper will be revised, alongside a new shading model, global lighting changes, improved ray tracing, GTAO, subsurface scattering, refreshed motion blur, ray-traced hair, and the broader foliage pass.

CD Projekt Red has not published new system requirements or performance targets. That leaves the hardware needed for the highest settings, especially full path tracing, unconfirmed.

Console owners will see platform-specific support alongside the shared remaster features. The update includes PS5 Pro support, Xbox Play Anywhere support, and exclusive features for Nintendo Switch 2. Cross-platform mod support is also part of the reveal, although the full platform list and moderation details have not been explained.

Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine will be free on August 25

Beginning August 25, players who own the base game but are missing either of its major add-ons will be able to claim Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine for free. Both expansions will be included with every copy of The Witcher 3 at no additional cost, including the remastered edition when it arrives on September 29. Newcomers will receive both bundled with the remastered edition.

Anyone who purchased either expansion will keep it in their library, while players who previously owned only the base game will gain access to the content. Existing saves remain compatible, cross-progression continues to work, and achievements and trophies will not be affected. Both expansions can still be started separately from the main menu.

Xbox One owners will receive the expansions even though The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered itself is limited to newer hardware. Digital owners will get the content automatically, while disc owners can claim it through the Xbox Store.

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Developed by CD Projekt RED

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red.

Set in a dark fantasy world, the game follows Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter searching for his adopted daughter, Ciri, while navigating political conflicts and supernatural threats. Gameplay features exploration, combat, character progression, and branching narratives shaped by player choices. Widely acclaimed for its writing, world-building, and depth, it is considered one of the most influential RPGs of its generation.

• Genre Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
• Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Perspective Third person
• Modes Single player
• Release May 19, 2015
• Publisher WB Games, cdp.pl, Spike Chunsoft, Bandai Namco Entertainment
• Age Rating
• Time to Beat

  Main

  37.4h

  Main + Extras

  70.8h

  Completionist

  161.5h

PlayStation Store Xbox Store Nintendo eShop Steam Epic Games Store GOG Explore The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Official Site