The Witcher 3 Remastered Packs Dozens of Upgrades, And It Could Be Free for You

Yeah, it’s still not The Witcher 4 yet, but CD Projekt Red is giving fans plenty of reasons to return to Geralt’s world. During Gamescom Opening Night Live, the studio revealed the first proper look at Songs of the Past, the upcoming third story expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Before showing off the expansion, however, CD Projekt Red unveiled something even closer on the horizon: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered.

The new version brings a surprisingly extensive collection of improvements to the acclaimed 2015 RPG, ranging from upgraded graphics and combat to redesigned progression systems, new accessibility options, and major PC rendering enhancements.

Better yet, existing owners won’t have to buy the game again. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launches on September 29 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and will be available as a free upgrade for players who already own The Witcher 3.

All Announced Changes in The Witcher 3 Remastered

CD Projekt Red has outlined dozens of upgrades and additions coming with the remastered release:

• Upgraded visuals
• Enhanced combat
• Improved traversal and movement
• Revamped mount handling
• Improved monster behaviors
• Revamped skill tree
• Transmogrification
• Expanded photo mode
• New combat finishers
• Cross-platform mods
• Immersive meditation
• Refined animations
• New quest tracking
• UI improvements
• Looting rework
• Refreshed motion blur
• New accessibility features
• Updated textures
• Foliage shading rework
• Tutorial modernization
• HDR improvements
• GTAO (Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion — not Grand Theft Auto Online)
• Improved menu navigation
• Ray tracing improvements
• Global lighting rework
• New shading model
• Subsurface scattering
• New tone mapper
• PlayStation 5 Pro support
• Xbox Play Anywhere support
• Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive features
• Nvidia DLSS 4.5
• AMD FSR 4
• Intel XeSS 2.0
• Path tracing on PC
• Ray reconstruction on PC
• Ray-traced hair
• Native DirectX 12
• Rendering parallelization

Taken together, the changes make the remaster far more substantial than a straightforward graphical refresh. Combat, exploration, progression, interface design, accessibility, and rendering technology are all receiving attention.

Songs of the Past Arrives in 2027

The remaster isn’t the end of CD Projekt Red’s plans for The Witcher 3.

Songs of the Past is scheduled to arrive sometime in 2027, becoming the game’s third major story expansion more than a decade after the original RPG launched in 2015.

The expansion has reportedly been described as comparable in size and scope to The Witcher 3’s two previous expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. It was originally planned for 2026 before its release window shifted to 2027.

That makes Songs of the Past a particularly unusual addition to the series. Few single-player RPGs receive a full-scale story expansion more than a decade after their original release, especially one positioned alongside expansions as substantial as Blood and Wine.

Could Songs of the Past Connect The Witcher 3 and The Witcher 4?

One of the biggest unanswered questions is how Songs of the Past might fit into the wider Witcher storyline.

In particular, fans will undoubtedly be looking for clues about whether the expansion establishes any connection between the ending of Geralt’s journey and the events of The Witcher 4.

The next mainline Witcher game will shift the spotlight to Ciri as its protagonist instead of Geralt, opening a new chapter for the franchise. CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 4 is currently targeting a 2028 release.

With The Witcher 3 Remastered arriving first on September 29 and Songs of the Past following in 2027, CD Projekt Red appears determined to keep players busy in the Continent while the wait for Ciri’s next adventure continues.