Latest Update: August 30, 2026 – Categories: The Witcher 3
Here is everything confirmed about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, including the release date, platforms, what is changing, and who gets it free.
CD Projekt Red announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered during Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, alongside the first look at Songs of the Past, a new paid expansion arriving in 2027. The remaster reworks combat, movement, skill trees, looting, quest tracking, and the game’s entire rendering pipeline, building on top of the 2022 next-gen update. More than a decade after its original release, The Witcher 3 is getting a massive update usually only done for paid products.
Quick Summary: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launches September 29, 2026 on PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and Battle.net for the first time), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. It is a free upgrade for existing owners on qualifying current-generation platforms. Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are now free for all base game owners. Combat, movement, skill trees, looting, quest tracking, and PC graphics tech have all been significantly reworked.
The Witcher 3 Remastered Release Date
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launches September 29, 2026. CD Projekt Red confirmed the date at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, giving players roughly a month between announcement and release. All platforms launch simultaneously on the same date.
Confirmed Platforms
The Witcher 3 Remastered launches on the following platforms on September 29, 2026:
- PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store, plus Battle.net for the first time through a new partnership between CD Projekt Red and Blizzard.
- PlayStation 5 with PS5 Pro Support.
- Xbox Series X|S, with Xbox Play Anywhere support for digital buyers allowing access across Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, and compatible Xbox handhelds from the same purchase.
- Nintendo Switch 2, as a separate native download distinct from the original Switch version.
The remaster is not coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or the original Nintendo Switch as a new purchase. Xbox One owners do receive the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions free, but Remastered itself is limited to current-generation hardware.
Is The Witcher 3 Remastered Free?
For existing owners on qualifying platforms, yes. Players who own The Witcher 3 on PC (GOG, Steam, or Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S receive Remastered as a free upgrade. Original Nintendo Switch owners can also claim the native Switch 2 edition at no cost once it releases. For new players who do not currently own the game, Remastered is a paid release that replaces the old version. A standalone price for new buyers on PC, PS5, and Xbox has not been announced as of this writing.
Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine Included
Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are now free for all existing base game owners on all platforms, including Xbox One. Digital owners found the expansions added to their libraries automatically. Disc owners can claim them from their platform’s store at no charge. Both expansions are also included with every new copy of Remastered going forward.
Note: Existing saves remain fully compatible with Remastered, and cross-progression continues to work. Achievements and trophies are unaffected.
What’s New in The Witcher 3 Remastered
Several new featuers and updates were also announced as coming to The Witcher 3 Remastered which substantially improve the game.
Combat and Movement
Geralt’s combat animations have been redone to make attacks and transitions between targets smoother, with faster closing distance animations and a set of newly added finishers. The reveal trailer confirmed a finisher involving the Aard sign. An adaptive combat camera adjusts its distance based on the encounter, pulling back for larger group fights and tightening for smaller engagements so enemies stay visible without the camera working against you.
General movement and traversal have been refined, and Roach receives another handling overhaul on top of the one included in the 2022 next-gen update. Monster behavior is being updated across the board, and Witcher Signs are getting new visual effects and refreshed motion blur throughout.
Skill Trees and Progression
The skill trees and character progression system are being rebuilt as well here. New perks and abilities are being added alongside reworked existing skills, and CD Projekt Red is changing how builds are assembled to allow more flexibility in which abilities Geralt can unlock and combine. Transmog is being added too, letting Geralt use the stats of one piece of equipment while keeping the visual appearance of another.
Quest Tracking, Looting, and Menus
A reworked quest tracking system and a new looting system are both confirmed. CD Projekt Red has not detailed exactly how either functions, but given the studio’s history of integrating popular community mods into official updates, the changes may draw from the most widely used quest and loot mods in the PC community. The game’s tutorial is also being modernized to better introduce new players to combat, Signs, alchemy, and Geralt’s broader systems. New accessibility features are confirmed, though individual options have not been announced yet.
Immersive meditation is a new feature shown in the reveal trailer. Rather than fading to black, the meditation sequence now shows a time-lapse of the world around Geralt as time passes, which is a small but nice addition. It seems like increasing immersion has been a big priority for CD Projekt this time around.
Photo Mode
The expanded photo mode adds new poses, camera controls, frames, filters, and character models on top of the photo mode introduced in the 2022 update.
Cross-Platform Mod Support
Cross-platform mod support is coming to consoles, with Xbox Series X|S specifically confirmed to support user-created content including quests, weapons, equipment, and balance changes. CD Projekt Red has not detailed the full distribution and moderation pipeline for console mods yet. If the console mod system is as open as the trailer implies, Remastered could become considerably more extensible on Xbox than any previous version of the game.
Graphics and Technical Upgrades
The graphics overhaul covers textures, lighting, shading, and rendering in substantial detail. Environment, NPC, and monster textures are being updated. Foliage receives a separate shading rework. HDR output and the tone mapper responsible for translating lighting information to the final image are both being improved. The lighting system is being rebuilt with a new shading model, a global lighting rework, improved ray tracing, GTAO ambient occlusion, and subsurface scattering, which changes how light behaves passing through materials like skin. Ray-traced hair is also confirmed.
On PC specifically, the upgrade adds full path tracing, Ray Reconstruction using Nvidia’s neural reconstruction technology, DLSS 4.5, FSR 4, XeSS 2.0, native DirectX 12, and rendering parallelization. Path tracing goes beyond the selective ray-traced effects in the 2022 version and will sit at the top end of the PC graphics settings. CD Projekt Red has not published new system requirements or performance targets yet.
Note: The 2022 next-gen update already introduced ray tracing, improved textures, and performance modes to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Remastered builds on that foundation rather than simply repackaging the same upgrade a second time.
Songs of the Past: The New Expansion
Alongside Remastered, CD Projekt Red showed the first teaser for Songs of the Past, a new paid expansion coming in 2027. It takes Geralt to Letten, a new region described as a quiet, harvest-festival setting hiding something considerably darker underneath. Songs of the Past is available to wishlist now and is not included with Remastered. It is a separate purchase arriving after Remastered launches.
Songs of the Past is confirmed to be the final chapter of Geralt’s story before the franchise moves to The Witcher 4, which is in development with a new protagonist. What CD Projekt Red showed at Gamescom was a brief teaser rather than a full gameplay reveal, and a dedicated Songs of the Past overview will follow as more details are confirmed.
The Final Word
September 29, 2026 is a huge day for The Witcher Franchise. If you already own The Witcher 3 on a current-generation platform, Remastered is a free upgrade and adds more than any previous update to the game. If you have been waiting for a reason to play it for the first time, or to return after years away, the combination of the remaster and two free expansions is as strong an entry point as the game has ever had. Songs of the Past in 2027 gives you time to work through the full campaign and both expansions before Geralt’s final chapter arrives. We will continue updating this guide as CD Projekt Red confirms system requirements, performance modes, and additional details ahead of the September 29 launch.
The Witcher 3 Remastered FAQ
1. When does The Witcher 3 Remastered come out?
September 29, 2026, simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
2. Is The Witcher 3 Remastered free?
For existing owners on PC (Steam, GOG, Epic), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S it is a free upgrade. Original Nintendo Switch owners can also claim the Switch 2 version free. New players who do not own the game will pay for it, though a standalone price has not been announced yet.
3. Are Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine free now?
Yes. Both expansions are included with every copy of the base game at no additional cost, effective immediately as of the Gamescom announcement on August 25, 2026. Players who already own the base game without the expansions found them added to their library automatically.
4. Is The Witcher 3 Remastered coming to PS4 or Xbox One?
No. Remastered is limited to current-generation hardware on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Xbox One owners do receive Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine for free, but not Remastered itself.
5. What is Songs of the Past?
Songs of the Past is a new paid expansion for The Witcher 3 arriving in 2027, set in a new region called Letten. It is confirmed as the final chapter of Geralt’s story before the franchise moves on to The Witcher 4. It is not included with Remastered and is a separate purchase.
6. Will my existing saves work with Remastered?
Yes. CD Projekt Red confirmed existing saves are fully compatible with Remastered, cross-progression continues to work, and achievements and trophies are unaffected.
7. Is The Witcher 3 Remastered coming to Battle.net?
Yes. Remastered marks the first time The Witcher 3 has appeared on Battle.net, through a new partnership between CD Projekt Red and Blizzard. It launches on Battle.net on the same day as all other platforms, September 29, 2026.
