The Witcher 3 Remastered Launches September 29 as a Free Upgrade

A new remaster arrives September 29

CD Projekt Red has announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered for September 29. The release will be a free upgrade for qualifying owners on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles, while Nintendo Switch 2 will receive a native version. The game is also coming to Battle.net for the first time.

This is a broader revision than the 2022 current-generation update. CD Projekt describes improvements across visuals, performance, gameplay, combat, traversal, and movement. The announcement also separates the remaster from Songs of the Past, a new paid expansion planned for 2027.

Combat, movement, and monsters are being revised

The remaster’s feature list reaches into systems players touch constantly. CD Projekt says combat and traversal are being enhanced, sign effects are changing, Roach’s handling is being improved, and monster behavior is being updated. A revised skill tree should also affect how builds develop rather than leaving the work at higher-resolution assets.

Other additions include transmog, a photo mode, and new finishers. Those features cover very different needs: transmog lets players separate appearance from equipment statistics, photo mode supports the game’s long afterlife as a visual world, and finishers add variety to repeated fights. The significance will depend on how deeply the underlying systems change, not the length of the feature list.

Existing owners receive both major expansions

CD Projekt says all existing owners will receive Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine at no additional cost as part of the transition. That is an important distinction for players who own only the base game. The two expansions contain substantial quest lines, regions, characters, and progression systems, making the remastered package larger than a visual refresh of Geralt’s original campaign.

The company has not reduced every ownership question to one universal rule, however. Its announcement refers to qualifying versions on the supported platforms. Players with unusual editions, subscriptions, physical copies, or accounts spread across storefronts should check the platform-specific upgrade instructions before September 29.

Songs of the Past is a separate 2027 expansion

Songs of the Past is not included in the free remaster announcement. It is a paid expansion scheduled for 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and Nintendo Switch 2. The story takes Geralt to Letten, a previously unexplored region, and is being co-developed with Fool’s Theory. Yigsoft is working with CD Projekt on the remaster.

Keeping the two products distinct matters. September’s release updates the existing game and brings its established expansions to current owners. Songs of the Past adds new story content later. Pricing, an exact 2027 release date, and complete ownership rules for that expansion were not part of the initial announcement.

Mechanical changes matter most

The Witcher 3 has already received a major modern-platform update, so this remaster needs to prove that its mechanical changes are meaningful. Better horse handling, movement, combat, and monster behavior could improve far more of a playthrough than another resolution increase. They are also areas where a decade of player feedback gives the developers unusually specific targets.

The free-upgrade policy makes the experiment easier for existing players to judge for themselves. The cleanest way to understand the roadmap is simple: Remastered launches September 29 as an upgrade to The Witcher 3, while Songs of the Past is a separate paid expansion planned for 2027.

Author

NexusArc Staff

NexusArc Staff publishes desk-written reporting, guides, updates, and service information prepared by the NexusArc editorial team.