The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered Officially Announced for September 29: Free Upgrade with Two Expansions

Summary

During the GamesCom 2026 Opening Night Live presentation, CD Projekt Red officially revealed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, launching on September 29. All current owners of the original game on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S will get the remastered version as a free upgrade. Even better, the remaster includes both premium expansion packs — Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine — at no additional cost. The remaster promises comprehensive improvements across visuals, lighting, scenery, character models, and gameplay mechanics, fully leveraging the power of current-gen consoles and high-end PCs. Pre-orders have also opened on Battle.net and Nintendo Switch 2, expanding access to a wider audience. As one of the most influential RPGs of the last decade, The Witcher 3 is celebrated for its deep narrative, vast open world, and morally complex choices. This free upgrade initiative is a strong gesture toward longtime fans and effectively removes the paywall for newcomers wanting the complete experience. From an industry perspective, CD Projekt Red is potentially setting a new precedent: instead of charging existing players again for an enhanced edition, they are giving it away along with all paid DLC to build goodwill and sustain community engagement. This approach could encourage other publishers to rethink remaster strategies—focusing on…