The Witcher 3 Remastered Is Out Now, Free for Existing Owners and Already Breaking Records

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launched 29 September 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Existing owners get it as a free upgrade, with both expansions included.

Eleven years after Geralt of Rivia first set out on the Path, CD Projekt Red has shipped a full visual, technical and gameplay overhaul of its acclaimed RPG. Players have responded fast. The launch pushed The Witcher 3 to its highest concurrent player count ever on Steam.

A free upgrade for existing owners

If you already own The Witcher 3, you do not need to buy it again on qualifying platforms. CD Projekt Red offers the Remastered upgrade at no extra cost to existing owners on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Owners of the original Nintendo Switch version get the Remastered version as a free upgrade on Nintendo Switch 2.

The upgrade includes both major expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. That applies even if you own only the base game on a supported platform. If you bought The Witcher 3 years ago and never returned, this is the version to come back to.

The Witcher 3 just broke its own player record

According to SteamDB, The Witcher 3 reached an all-time peak of 120,975 concurrent Steam players on 29 September 2026. The previous record stood at 103,329 players, set in January 2020 after the first season of Netflix's The Witcher brought new players to the game.

The original 2015 release peaked at around 92,000 concurrent Steam players. The Remastered edition has now passed both the launch peak and the Netflix-era peak.

Those figures cover Steam only. The Remastered edition is also live on GOG, Epic Games Store, Battle.net, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2, so no public figure covers total players across all platforms.

What has changed in The Witcher 3 Remastered?

This is not a resolution bump. CD Projekt Red rebuilt large parts of the game:

• New textures and reworked character, environment and monster assets
• Reworked lighting, shadows and foliage
• Improved performance and rendering
• Ray tracing and expanded graphics options on supported PC hardware
• Redesigned skill system
• New combat animations and finishing moves
• Improved combat camera
• Transmog for equipment
• Expanded Photo Mode
• Improved horse controls and gameplay refinements
• Cross-platform mod support
• Improved accessibility options
• Modern PC upscaling and frame generation support

Existing saves carry over, and cross-progression support remains where available.

8GB VRAM? Turn ray tracing off

The Remastered version needs more hardware than the original. CD Projekt Red now targets Windows 11, DirectX 12 and an SSD, with 12GB of system RAM and 6GB of VRAM at minimum.

For 1080p/60 FPS on High, CD Projekt Red specifies 8GB of VRAM. The requirement rises to 12GB for 1440p/60 FPS on Ultra and for the recommended 1440p ray tracing setup. The top 4K path tracing setup calls for a GeForce RTX 5080 with 24GB of system RAM.

Our advice for 8GB cards is direct: start with ray tracing off and lock a stable frame rate first. Cards with 12GB or more give you room to test RT settings. CD Projekt Red tested its RT setups with DLSS, FSR or XeSS in Auto mode, and notes that results shift with resolution, scene and system setup.

A new expansion arrives in 2027

The return does not end with the remaster. CD Projekt Red is building The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Songs of the Past, a new expansion planned for 2027.

The expansion takes Geralt to Letten, the homeland of Dandelion, with new quests, characters, enemies and a new story. Geralt gets a new chain weapon plus new abilities and mechanics. CD Projekt Red co-develops it with Fool's Theory for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

The Witcher 3 gets another life

The Witcher 3 was already one of the defining RPGs of its generation, with more than 65 million copies sold. The Remastered edition pairs the free upgrade and both expansions with updated visuals, reworked combat and a 2027 expansion on the way. The 120,975-player Steam peak shows many players have already started the Path again.