The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered — Release Date, Upgrades and What to Expect

Last verified: September 25, 2026. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is real, officially announced, and scheduled to launch on September 29, 2026. It is not simply a new name for the 2022 “next-gen” update: CD PROJEKT RED describes Remastered as a newer modernization with additional visual, gameplay, progression, combat, movement and modding changes. It will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

The most important practical point is that many existing owners will not need to buy the game again. CD PROJEKT RED says Remastered will be a free upgrade for owners on qualifying platforms, and the two original expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, are now included with the base game at no extra cost. The publisher’s official announcement confirms the launch date and upgrade path, while the official Witcher 3 page lists the main Remastered features.

What is confirmed about The Witcher 3 Remastered?

CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed a substantial set of changes rather than a simple resolution bump. The company says Remastered includes upgraded environment, NPC and monster textures; major foliage improvements; revised lighting and rendering; enhanced ray tracing; combat changes; a redesigned skill system; revised animations; new finishing moves; an adaptive camera; transmogrification; more immersive meditation; an expanded photo mode; and cross-platform mod support.

The project is being co-developed with Yigsoft, while CD PROJEKT RED remains the publisher and lead studio behind the game. The official announcement also says the game is coming natively to Nintendo Switch 2 and is launching on Battle.net for the first time.

What you should do: If you are deciding whether to replay the game now or wait, compare the features above with what matters to you. Players mainly interested in improved combat, progression and visuals have a clear reason to wait for September 29 rather than starting a fresh playthrough immediately.

Common misunderstanding: this is not the 2022 next-gen update

The Witcher 3 already received a major current-generation update in December 2022. That release added features such as ray-traced global illumination, higher-end PC graphics settings, photo mode, a closer camera option, cross-progression and console performance modes. Those changes remain part of the game’s recent history, but Remastered is a separate 2026 release with further gameplay and presentation changes.

That distinction matters because some search results and older videos still use phrases such as “next-gen Witcher 3” when discussing features introduced several years ago. The official 2026 Remastered page specifically highlights changes such as revamped combat animations, new finishers, an overhauled skill tree, transmogrification and further lighting and rendering work.

What you should do: When checking videos, guides or settings recommendations, look at the publication date. Advice made for the 2022 next-gen version may not describe the Remastered build that arrives in 2026.

Release date and platforms

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is scheduled for September 29, 2026. The confirmed current-generation platforms are PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. CD PROJEKT RED also says Battle.net will become a new PC storefront for the game.

CD PROJEKT RED’s official support FAQ says the Remastered upgrade is for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Previous-generation consoles continue to receive access to the two original expansions, but they are not listed as Remastered platforms.

What you should do: Check the platform where you actually own the game before assuming the upgrade applies. In particular, PS4 and Xbox One players should not interpret “free upgrade” as a promise of a native Remastered build for those consoles.

What visual and performance upgrades should you expect?

CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed higher-quality textures for environments, characters and monsters, major foliage upgrades, reworked lighting and rendering, and further ray-tracing improvements. The wording suggests the studio is revisiting the broader visual pipeline rather than only increasing texture resolution.

What is still less clear is the final performance profile on every platform. CD PROJEKT RED has not, as of September 25, published a complete table of final console resolutions, frame-rate modes or ray-tracing targets for Remastered. The 2022 version had distinct quality and performance modes on current-generation consoles, but those numbers should not be automatically carried over to the new release.

What you should do: If you care about a specific target such as 60 fps with ray tracing, wait for the final platform-specific technical details or launch-day testing instead of assuming the 2022 mode structure will remain unchanged.

Combat, camera and character progression are changing too

One of the bigger differences between Remastered and a conventional graphics-only remaster is the gameplay work. CD PROJEKT RED says combat will include revised animations, new finishing moves and an adaptive camera designed to make movement and action feel more fluid. The company also describes the skill tree as overhauled, with the goal of giving players more flexibility and making progression choices more meaningful.

This is important for returning players because it means old builds may not transfer one-for-one. CD PROJEKT RED’s official saves and achievements support page says existing saves should work, but skills and settings will be reset because of the changes. Players will be able to reallocate their skills after upgrading.

What you should do: Before updating, take note of your current build, preferred signs and combat settings. Your story progress should carry forward, but you should expect to spend a few minutes rebuilding your character setup.

Will old saves, achievements and trophies carry over?

Yes, according to CD PROJEKT RED. Current Witcher 3 save files are expected to work with Remastered. Achievements and trophies are shared with the existing versions, so already-unlocked achievements do not need to be earned again. Cross-progression also remains supported.

The caveat is the previously mentioned reset of skills and settings. Save compatibility does not mean every configuration value will remain exactly as it was before the upgrade.

What you should do: Make sure your latest save is synchronized before launch if you use cross-progression. After upgrading, check gameplay, camera and graphics settings before continuing a difficult quest or combat encounter.

Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are now included

Another source of confusion is the relationship between Remastered and the two classic expansions. You do not need to buy Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine separately if you own the base game. CD PROJEKT RED has folded both expansions into the base-game package and says existing owners receive the content at no additional cost.

The company has also changed the storefront structure: standalone expansion listings are being removed, and the Complete Edition becomes the standard package for new buyers. Existing owners keep their old licenses, while the expansion content is integrated into the base game.

What you should do: Update your existing game before buying any older DLC key. If your goal is simply to play Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine, the official support FAQ says the latest game version should provide access.

Cross-platform mods: confirmed, but not identical on every system

CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed cross-platform mod support through mod.io for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The company’s official mod-support FAQ explains that console users will access approved mods through mod.io, while PC players can continue using other services as well.

Not every PC mod is guaranteed to appear on consoles. Platform rules and technical restrictions still apply, and script-based console mods must be created with REDkit. The official mod FAQ names PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S; it does not provide the same explicit confirmation for Nintendo Switch 2.

What you should do: If mods are important to you, verify that your specific mod has a Remastered-compatible version before updating a heavily modded save. Console players should also expect a curated subset rather than unrestricted access to every PC mod.

PC players should pay attention to the new minimum requirements

The PC version is getting a meaningful baseline change. CD PROJEKT RED’s official technical support page lists new minimum requirements for the next update: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel Core i5-8400, GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB, 6 GB VRAM, 12 GB RAM, a 70 GB SSD and 64-bit Windows 11. CD PROJEKT RED also says the updated game will use DirectX 12 and that HDDs will no longer be supported.

This is a larger change than many returning PC players may expect from a free upgrade. A system that could run the 2015 release or even the 2022 update may not fall within the new supported minimum specification.

What you should do: Compare your CPU, GPU, RAM, operating system and storage against the new minimums before launch. If your PC is below them, CD PROJEKT RED says reverting to an earlier version remains possible.

Remastered is not the new Songs of the Past expansion

Another easy mix-up is between Remastered and Songs of the Past. They are separate releases. Remastered is the September 2026 modernization of the existing game and includes Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Songs of the Past is a separate new paid expansion planned for 2027, with a new region called Letten and a new story.

CD PROJEKT RED’s official announcement from August 25, 2026 discusses both projects together, which is one reason they can be confused in search results.

What you should do: Treat September 29 as the Remastered release date, not the release date for new story content. If you are waiting specifically for a brand-new Witcher 3 region and quests, that is Songs of the Past in 2027.

What is still unknown before launch?

Several details remain incomplete or platform-dependent as of September 25. CD PROJEKT RED has not published a full final breakdown of console frame-rate and resolution modes for Remastered, nor a complete list of every graphics setting and ray-tracing option. The official feature list confirms an expanded photo mode and “more” upgrades, but not every individual change has been itemized publicly.

There may also be launch-day patches, driver recommendations and platform-specific caveats that only become clear once the final build is distributed. Those are normal uncertainties for a game update arriving in a few days, but they are worth separating from confirmed features.

What you should do: Check the official Witcher 3 website and CD PROJEKT RED support pages on or after September 29 before changing a mod-heavy installation, upgrading a borderline PC or choosing between visual modes on console.

Bottom line

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is a free current-generation upgrade for many existing owners, launching September 29, 2026. It goes beyond the 2022 next-gen update with further visual work, reworked combat, a redesigned skill tree, new animation work, transmogrification, expanded photography tools and broader mod support. Existing saves, achievements and trophies are intended to carry forward, although skills and settings will be reset.

The biggest practical checks are straightforward: confirm that your platform qualifies, make sure your PC meets the new minimum requirements if you play on Windows, back up or synchronize your saves, and verify mod compatibility before upgrading. Everything beyond the confirmed feature list — especially exact performance targets on each console — is best treated as pending until CD PROJEKT RED publishes final technical details or the game is live.