The Witcher 3 Remastered Arrives September 29 as a Free Upgrade: Every Platform Rule Explained

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered launches on 29 September 2026 as a free upgrade for anyone who already owns the game, on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. CD Projekt Red also made both expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, free for every existing owner of the base game.

What was announced, and when

CD Projekt Red revealed the remaster on 25 August 2026 during gamescom Opening Night Live. It is co-developed with Yigsoft, and it is a remaster rather than a remake: the game is the game, with a technical and systems pass on top. The studio confirmed a 29 September 2026 release across every platform simultaneously, including a native Switch 2 version. We covered everything else announced at Opening Night Live separately, and Songs of the Past got its first trailer at the same show.

Who actually gets it free

The rule is broader than most free-upgrade offers. If you own The Witcher 3 on GOG, Steam, the Epic Games Store, PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, Remastered arrives at no extra cost. There is no edition requirement on those stores: base-game owners qualify, and they also now hold both expansions, which Engadget confirmed alongside the announcement.

What CD Projekt Red has not addressed is last-generation hardware. Its own wording is that Remastered “is a free upgrade for existing The Witcher 3 owners on qualifying platforms” and that it launches “on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S”. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are not named anywhere in the announcement, and the studio has not said whether a PS4 or Xbox One entitlement counts as a qualifying one. If that is where your copy lives, the honest answer today is that it is unconfirmed — not that you are excluded.

The Switch route works differently because it runs through Nintendo’s upgrade system. Per a CD Projekt Red support statement on 26 August, reported by Video Games Chronicle: digital Switch owners can pre-order the Remastered version on the eShop for free right now, while physical Switch owners claim the free upgrade when the game launches on 29 September.

Why the Switch upgrade has no edition catch

Some coverage has flagged confusion over whether the Switch upgrade is limited to Complete Edition owners. On Switch, that distinction does not exist. The Witcher 3 has only ever shipped on the platform as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition, released on 15 October 2019 with both expansions already inside, per the 2019 Switch release. There is no base-game-only Switch SKU to exclude, which is why Nintendo Life reports the offer as covering Switch owners generally.

That also explains why the “expansions are now free” half of the announcement reads as nothing on Switch and as a real giveaway everywhere else. Switch players paid for the bundle in 2019; PC and console players who only ever bought the base game are the ones being handed content.

The expansions giveaway is a funnel for a 2027 expansion

Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine launched at $10 and $20 respectively, or $25 together as the Expansion Pass, as GameSpot reported at the time. Handing that to every base-game owner a month before a remaster is generous, but it is not charity, and the timing points at something specific.

Blood and Wine is where The Witcher 3’s mutation system lives — the endgame layer that sits on top of the skill tree and defines how late-game characters are actually built. Songs of the Past, the paid expansion CD Projekt Red is co-developing with Fool’s Theory for a 2027 release in the new realm of Letten, will land on an audience in which every existing owner now has that system unlocked. Getting lapsed players back to the endgame for free is the cheapest marketing for a paid expansion arriving a year later. CD Projekt Red has not framed it that way itself, so read that as our analysis rather than a stated strategy.

What the remaster actually changes

CD Projekt Red’s own list covers both presentation and systems: upgraded visuals, enhanced combat, improved traversal and movement, new witcher sign effects, revamped mount handling, enhanced monster behaviours, a skill tree revamp, transmogrification, an expanded photo mode and new finishers. The skill tree revamp is the one with consequences beyond looks — it is the layer every Witcher 3 build guide written in the last decade is standing on, and the studio has not yet published details of what changes.

For the Switch 2 version specifically, the remaster is a native build rather than a Switch compatibility mode, which puts it in the same bracket as Elden Ring’s Switch 2 edition earlier this month. CD Projekt Red has not published resolution or frame-rate targets for any platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does The Witcher 3 Remastered come out?

29 September 2026, simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered free if I already own the game?

Yes, on qualifying platforms — GOG, Steam, the Epic Games Store, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S all upgrade at no cost. Switch owners get it free too, with digital owners able to pre-order it now and physical owners claiming it at launch.

Do I need the Complete Edition to get the free upgrade?

No. Base-game owners qualify, and they have also been given Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine free. On Switch the question does not arise, because the game only ever shipped there as the Complete Edition.

What does the remaster actually add?

CD Projekt Red lists upgraded visuals, enhanced combat, improved traversal and movement, new sign effects, revamped mount handling, enhanced monster behaviours, a skill tree revamp, transmogrification, an expanded photo mode and new finishers.

Is Songs of the Past included in the remaster?

No. Songs of the Past is a separate paid expansion set in the new realm of Letten, co-developed with Fool’s Theory, and it is scheduled for 2027.

Last updated 31 August 2026.