The Witcher 3 Gets a Sweeping Free Remastered Upgrade for Every Existing Copy Today

CD Projekt Red confirmed to Eurogamer that every version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt currently in circulation will be transformed into the free Remastered edition starting today, with the update going live from 11am BST. The publisher clarified that the Complete Edition, the Game of the Year release, and even the original base game will all collapse into a single standard version that includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions by default, with all copies on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC being upgraded at no cost when the Remastered edition officially launches.

The announcement arrived alongside a sprawling set of patch notes that document the full scope of the overhaul. The changes touch nearly every system in the game, from a reworked skill tree and re-textured environments to a vastly expanded Photo Mode and a new accessibility suite, with platform-specific notes covering PC, PlayStation, and Switch 2 (with no notable Xbox changes beyond the game now supporting Xbox Play Anywhere).

A single version for everyone

The most consequential part of the update is not any single graphical tweak but the unification of the game’s many editions. Players who purchased the game through any route will find themselves on the same footing, with both major story expansions folded in automatically.

As of today, all versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that exist in the world – Complete, Game of the Year, and even the base game – will all become this new standard version that includes Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine by default. When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered launches, all copies on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will be upgraded for free.

CD Projekt Red

As I noted in my Witcher 3 Remastered impressions yesterday, it can be tricky to parse exactly what has changed and what has not while you play, which is arguably as it should be. The most visible shifts are the re-texturing and re-lighting that bring the world in line with a modern release, but the patch notes also clarify subtler gameplay adjustments. Enemy behaviour has been touched across “many non-boss monsters,” with attack patterns, counterattacks, movement, reactions, flight and the application of effects all tweaked, though CD Projekt Red did not break the changes down enemy by enemy.

Small details, sweeping systems

Among the more charming refinements are the changes to Roach, who now benefits from updated collision detection and a refined jumping animation, while Geralt gains more polished mount and dismount animations, a new jump, and a new idle pose. The Photo Mode has been dramatically expanded, adding placeable props and characters, a first-person viewpoint for capturing the world through Geralt’s eyes, camera locking, environment presets, and saveable camera angles.

The additions also include a dedicated Accessibility section housing the Bard’s Ballad preset, which streamlines mechanics to reduce cognitive load, plus Cross Platform Mod Support powered by mod.io. On PC, the game gains native DirectX 12 rendering, Path Tracing, and support for NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2.0, while the PlayStation 5 build adds multithreaded rendering and full PlayStation 5 Pro support through PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, VRR, and uncapped frame rates.

The Switch 2 receives perhaps the most bespoke treatment, with four playstyles, motion control patterns, a mouse sensor, touch-screen input throughout menus and Photo Mode, Joy-Con HD Rumble, and VRR and HDR support in handheld mode.

Looking Ahead

While the Remastered edition is a generous standalone release in its own right, its primary purpose is to lay the groundwork for next year’s equally remarkable new game expansion, Songs of the Past. The free update is available now across all supported platforms, and there is no reason not to saddle up for another playthrough before the next chapter arrives.