The Witcher 3 Remastered Release Date and Free Upgrade

The Witcher 3 Remastered launches on September 29, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Announced during Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live, the enhanced edition introduces upgraded graphics, reworked combat, improved movement, a redesigned skill tree, cross-platform mod support and numerous other gameplay improvements.

Existing owners on qualifying PC and current-generation console platforms will receive The Witcher 3 Remastered as a free upgrade. CD Projekt Red has also made the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions free for everyone who owns the base game, allowing players to experience Geralt’s complete existing adventure before the new Songs of the Past expansion arrives in 2027.

This is a more extensive overhaul than the free next-generation update released in 2022. Although it retains the original story and open world, the remaster changes character progression, combat animations, monster behavior, traversal, horse controls, lighting and other major systems.

The Witcher 3 Remastered at a glance

CD Projekt Red unveiled the remaster alongside the first teaser for Songs of the Past, a third paid expansion that will take Geralt to the new region of Letten in 2027.

When is The Witcher 3 Remastered release date?

The Witcher 3 Remastered release date is September 29, 2026.

The upgraded game will launch simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. It will also introduce The Witcher 3 to Battle.net through a new partnership between CD Projekt Red and Blizzard Entertainment.

The announcement came during Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, giving players approximately five weeks between the reveal and release.

Preorders for the native Nintendo Switch 2 version are available now. CD Projekt Red has not yet confirmed the standard price for players buying the remaster as a completely new purchase on every platform.

Watch The Witcher 3 Remastered trailer

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The trailer demonstrates the improved environments, combat animations, lighting and character models while revisiting familiar locations from Geralt’s original adventure.

Although the changes are visually substantial, the remaster does not replace the original story. Players will still follow Geralt’s search for Ciri while travelling across Velen, Novigrad, Skellige and the other established regions.

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered a free upgrade?

Yes. The Witcher 3 Remastered will be a free upgrade for existing owners on qualifying platforms.

CD Projekt Red currently identifies PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S as the principal upgrade platforms. Its official announcement does not promise the Remastered upgrade for PlayStation 4, Xbox One or the original Nintendo Switch.

Existing The Witcher 3 owners will receive the remastered upgrade for free.

The safest interpretation is:

Players should wait for CD Projekt Red’s complete upgrade and ownership FAQ before assuming that every older console copy qualifies.

Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are now free

All owners of The Witcher 3 base game can now access Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine without paying an additional fee.

This means players no longer need the Complete Edition to access the two existing expansions.

The acclaimed Hearts of Stone expansion is included with The Witcher 3 Remastered.

Hearts of Stone

Hearts of Stone follows Geralt after he accepts a dangerous contract involving the immortal Olgierd von Everec and the mysterious Gaunter O’Dimm.

The expansion provides a more concentrated story than the main game, with difficult choices and one of the series’ most memorable antagonists.

Blood and Wine is included with The Witcher 3 Remastered.

Blood and Wine

Blood and Wine takes Geralt to Toussaint, a colorful region hiding a series of violent murders beneath its picturesque appearance.

It contains a substantial new map, quests, monsters, equipment and character-progression systems. Its size makes it closer to a standalone adventure than a conventional DLC pack.

Making both expansions free gives existing owners the complete current storyline before The Witcher 3 Remastered arrives in September.

The Witcher 3 Remastered brings upgraded visuals to Geralt’s open-world adventure.

Upgraded visuals and ray tracing

The Witcher 3 Remastered includes another significant visual overhaul.

Confirmed graphical improvements include:

• Higher-quality environmental textures
• Improved NPC textures
• More detailed monster textures
• Major foliage enhancements
• Reworked lighting
• Improved rendering
• Enhanced ray tracing
• More realistic light and shadow

These changes should affect every region rather than being restricted to selected locations.

The 2022 next-generation update already introduced ray tracing, upgraded assets and improved console performance. Remastered will build upon that foundation with new rendering work and more extensive environmental changes.

CD Projekt Red has not yet published complete resolution or frame-rate targets for each platform.

Geralt of Rivia returns with enhanced character detail and upgraded visuals in The Witcher 3 Remastered.

Combat has been substantially reworked

The Witcher 3 Remastered introduces more dynamic combat through new and revised animations.

Confirmed combat changes include:

• Revamped attack animations
• New finishers
• An adaptive combat camera
• Improved dodging
• New Witcher Sign effects
• Enhanced monster behavior
• More responsive movement

The original game’s story and quest design remain highly regarded, but its combat can feel less fluid than more recent action RPGs. Improving Geralt’s responsiveness could therefore be one of the remaster’s most important changes.

Enhanced monster behavior may also make familiar contracts less predictable, although CD Projekt Red has not explained whether enemy artificial intelligence or complete encounter designs have been changed.

The skill tree has been redesigned

Character progression receives a more substantial overhaul through a reimagined skill system.

The new skill tree is intended to offer:

• Greater build flexibility
• More meaningful upgrades
• Stronger effects on individual playstyles
• Modernized character progression

The original game allows Geralt to specialize in swordsmanship, Witcher Signs, alchemy or hybrid combinations. Remastered should retain these broad paths while revising how abilities are unlocked and equipped.

CD Projekt Red has not published the complete new skill tree, so it remains unclear how existing abilities have been changed or replaced.

The remaster introduces a revamped skill tree covering combat, signs and character upgrades.

Improved movement and horse controls

Geralt’s traversal and general movement are being updated.

The Witcher 3 Remastered includes:

• Improved character movement
• Revised traversal
• Updated animations
• Better mount handling
• More responsive horse controls

Roach receives revamped mount handling as part of The Witcher 3 Remastered’s gameplay improvements.

Roach’s unpredictable behavior has become one of the original game’s longest-running jokes. Improved mount handling could make travelling across the Continent less frustrating, particularly when navigating forests, bridges and narrow paths.

The announcement does not confirm whether terrain collision or automatic path-following has also been reworked.

Transmogrification is finally being added

The remaster will introduce transmogrification, commonly shortened to transmog.

This allows players to use the visual appearance of one piece of equipment while retaining the statistics of another. Geralt can therefore wear a preferred armor design without sacrificing a stronger build.

Transmogrification has been frequently requested because some of the game’s best statistical equipment does not necessarily match a player’s preferred appearance.

The system should be particularly useful during New Game Plus and the two expansions, where equipment appearance and power can vary considerably.

The Witcher 3 Remastered adds transmogrification, allowing players to customise Geralt’s appearance while retaining their preferred equipment stats.

Cross-platform mod support confirmed

The Witcher 3 Remastered includes cross-platform mod support.

This could allow selected community-created content to become available beyond PC, although CD Projekt Red has not yet explained:

• Which platforms will support mods
• How mods will be approved
• Whether consoles receive the same selection as PC
• How mods will be downloaded
• Whether existing PC mods remain compatible
• Whether using mods disables achievements

The original PC version already supports a considerable modding community. An official cross-platform system could make interface improvements, visual changes and additional gameplay options available to many more players.

Mod creators may still need to update existing projects for the remaster’s revised systems.

The Witcher 3 Remastered expands Photo Mode, giving players more options for capturing Geralt’s most dramatic battles.

Expanded photo mode and immersive meditation

Photo mode will receive additional options, providing more control when capturing Geralt, monsters, characters and landscapes.

The announcement also confirms “immersive meditation,” although CD Projekt Red has not fully explained the system.

Meditation currently allows Geralt to advance time and restore certain resources. The redesigned version may present the process more naturally within the world rather than relying entirely on menu screens.

Further information should emerge during CD Projekt Red’s Gamescom REDstreams presentations.

Nintendo Switch 2 receives a native version

The Witcher 3 Remastered will launch natively on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 29.

The original Witcher 3 was ported to Nintendo Switch in 2019, but substantial compromises were required to run the enormous open-world RPG on the older hardware.

A native Switch 2 version should offer improved visuals and performance, although official resolution, frame-rate and graphical comparisons have not yet been released.

The Switch 2 version is available to preorder. CD Projekt Red has not confirmed whether owners of the original Switch release will receive a discount or upgrade path.

Geralt explores an ornate interior filled with detailed architecture, stained glass and atmospheric lighting.

The Witcher 3 is coming to Battle.net

The remaster will also launch through Battle.net as part of a partnership between CD Projekt Red and Blizzard Entertainment.

This will be the first time The Witcher 3 has been sold through Blizzard’s PC platform.

Players who purchase the Songs of the Past expansion through Battle.net will receive a Geralt-inspired cosmetic skin for Diablo 4. More information about the collaboration will be announced during BlizzCon in September.

Existing Steam, GOG and Epic Games Store owners do not need to repurchase the game through Battle.net to receive the free remaster upgrade.

How is Remastered different from the 2022 update?

The 2022 next-generation update improved The Witcher 3 with ray tracing, faster loading, quality-of-life changes, a closer camera and current-generation console support.

The Witcher 3 Remastered goes further by changing or adding:

The remaster is therefore not simply a new name for the existing current-generation version.

Does The Witcher 3 Remastered include new story content?

The remaster itself does not contain a newly announced story campaign.

It includes:

• The original Wild Hunt storyline
• Hearts of Stone
• Blood and Wine

The new Songs of the Past storyline is a separate paid expansion scheduled for 2027.

Its Gamescom teaser revealed Letten, an apparently peaceful region filled with rural traditions, folklore, harvests and festivals. Beneath that peaceful surface lies a dormant evil that Geralt must confront.

Songs of the Past arrives in 2027

Songs of the Past will continue Geralt’s story in 2027.

The expansion introduces:

• The new region of Letten
• New enemies
• Returning characters
• New abilities
• A new chain weapon
• Difficult decisions and consequences

CD Projekt Red is co-developing the expansion with Fool’s Theory, a studio led by developers with previous experience working on The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 Remastered is being co-developed with Yigsoft, which previously contributed to The Witcher 3 Complete Edition and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

A sinister creature emerges from the darkness during one of Geralt’s encounters.

Will existing saves work with The Witcher 3 Remastered?

CD Projekt Red has not yet provided complete information about save compatibility.

The current version supports cross-progression between several platforms, but that does not automatically confirm that every save, modded playthrough or New Game Plus file will transfer perfectly into Remastered.

The redesigned skill tree and revised gameplay systems may require changes to existing character builds.

Players should avoid deleting or replacing their current installations and saves until CD Projekt Red publishes its upgrade instructions.

Will PC requirements increase?

Updated PC system requirements have not yet been announced.

The improved textures, foliage, lighting, rendering and ray tracing may require stronger hardware than the existing version when using the highest settings.

However, CD Projekt Red has also promised performance enhancements, meaning players may receive more scalable settings for older systems.

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered worth playing?

The free upgrade makes Remastered an extremely attractive reason to return to the Continent.

Improved graphics alone may not persuade everyone to begin another enormous playthrough, but reworked combat, better movement, a redesigned skill tree, transmog and cross-platform mods directly address several weaknesses of the original game.

Making Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine free also gives base-game owners a considerable amount of additional content.

The timing is deliberate. Remastered gives players the most complete version of Geralt’s original adventure before Songs of the Past arrives in 2027 and The Witcher 4 continues the series with Ciri.

With The Witcher 3 Remastered release date confirmed for September 29, players only have a short wait before returning to the Path.

Ciri’s story in The Witcher 3 takes on new significance ahead of her return as the main protagonist of The Witcher 4.

Useful Links

• Official Witcher 3 website(opens in new tab)
• Official announcement(opens in new tab)
• Steam announcement(opens in new tab)
• Official Songs of the Past teaser(opens in new tab)
• The Witcher 3 on Steam(opens in new tab)
• The Witcher 3 on SteamDB(opens in new tab)
• CD Projekt Red(opens in new tab)
• Official Witcher Discord(opens in new tab)

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