Witcher 3 Free Remaster Swells Base Ahead of 2027 Expansion

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Remastered launches September 29 as a free upgrade for existing owners on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, unlocking both classic expansions immediately and adding a native Nintendo Switch 2 edition plus Battle.net. CD Projekt RED revealed the package at gamescom Opening Night Live alongside a teaser for the paid 2027 expansion Songs of the Past, set in the new realm of Letten.

Erste Group analyst Krzysztof Tkocz told investors the remaster should deliver a meaningful lift to fourth-quarter results while pushing the installed base from more than 65 million copies toward 70-75 million before Songs ships.

The dual reveal ties a no-cost systems overhaul to a future paid chapter in one window, giving owners a clear reason to return this autumn and a concrete date to watch in 2027.

Free Upgrade Lands on These Platforms

Owners on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S receive the full Remastered build at no cost. The same free drop immediately grants access to Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine for anyone who only held the base game. Both expansions ship inside the Remastered package itself.

Nintendo Switch owners of the original portable version do not get a free path. A native Switch 2 edition of Remastered goes on sale separately, with pre-orders open now. Battle.net receives the game for the first time through a fresh CD Projekt RED and Blizzard Entertainment partnership; new buyers can pre-purchase there for a listed price around €50.

The free upgrade for existing owners on qualifying platforms also covers the complete visual and systems overhaul. CD Projekt RED is co-developing Remastered with Yigsoft, a studio already experienced on earlier Witcher 3 work.

That split keeps the largest owner groups on a zero-friction path while opening two fresh storefronts for buyers who never owned the game. The Switch 2 native build and the Battle.net listing broaden reach without diluting the free promise made to GOG, Steam, Epic, PlayStation 5 and Xbox players.

Combat Movement and the Skill Tree All Change

Remastered goes well past a texture polish. Players get upgraded visuals with path tracing on PC, denser foliage, a new shading model, subsurface scattering, improved ray tracing, HDR work and a fresh tone mapper. Support lands for Nvidia DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4, Intel XeSS 2.0, native DX12 and PlayStation 5 Pro.

• Path tracing on PC, improved ray tracing, HDR and a fresh tone mapper
• Denser foliage, a new shading model and subsurface scattering
• Upscalers: Nvidia DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XeSS 2.0
• Native DX12 and PlayStation 5 Pro support

Gameplay systems receive equal attention. Combat feels tighter with refined animations that close distance faster, an adaptive camera and brutal new finishers including an Aard-powered move. Traversal and movement are smoother. Mount handling for Roach is revamped. Monster behaviors grow more dynamic. Witcher signs receive new visual effects.

• Full skill-tree redesign with new perks, reworked abilities and more flexible builds
• Transmogrification so armor and weapons can keep preferred looks without stat sacrifice
• Expanded photo mode with extra poses, frames, filters and camera tools
• Cross-platform mod support arriving on Xbox Series X|S
• Looting rework, immersive meditation, refined UI, new quest tracking and accessibility options

Xbox’s official write-up highlights the revamped animations and brutal new finishers that make swordplay feel more fluid and weighty. The entire adventure, including both original expansions, runs on the updated foundation.

Because Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine share that foundation, players who unlock the classic DLC through the free drop meet the same combat timing, camera rules and sign effects as base-game quests. The redesign of the skill tree and the arrival of transmogrification further reward replays by letting builds and looks shift without a second inventory grind.

Letten Hides Its Secret for 2027

Songs of the Past is a full paid expansion arriving sometime in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. It is already wish-listable. The story sends Geralt to Letten, an idyllic land of rural tradition, bountiful harvests and lively festivals that conceals a dark secret and never-before-seen foes.

CD Projekt RED is co-developing the expansion with Fool’s Theory, whose leadership includes Witcher 3 veterans. The studio has said the package will match the scale of Blood and Wine, which delivered a large new region and roughly 30 hours of quests. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski has framed it as both a return for longtime fans and a possible first step into the universe for newcomers before the baton passes to Ciri.

This maps a great opportunity for people to jump in with the improvements on the remaster update and get a whole lot of stuff for free before we ship the Songs of the Past.

Miles Tost, CD Projekt RED level design lead, gamescom stage

Five days of REDstreams during gamescom are diving deeper into both Remastered systems and Songs of the Past story and world details.

Matching Blood and Wine’s regional scope sets a clear expectation: a self-contained land with its own quest density rather than a short add-on. Wish-listing now keeps the 2027 window visible while the free remaster absorbs returning players through the rest of this year.

Blizzard Opens Battle.net and a Diablo Skin

The Battle.net arrival closes a three-decade circle. In 1998 CD PROJEKT distributed StarCraft for Blizzard in Poland. Now the studios reverse the flow: Witcher 3 Remastered and later Songs of the Past land on Blizzard’s launcher.

Buyers of Songs of the Past on Battle.net receive a special Geralt-inspired skin in Diablo IV. The skin unlocks at pre-purchase and remains available at full launch. CD Projekt RED and Blizzard plan further reveals at BlizzCon in mid-September.

• New storefront: Witcher 3 Remastered live on Battle.net September 29
• Expansion path: Songs of the Past follows on the same launcher in 2027
• Crossover reward: Geralt skin in Diablo IV for Songs purchasers
• Longer arc: Both companies call the deal only the beginning

Global PR Director Radek Grabowski noted both studios build worlds players inhabit for hundreds of hours and share an ambition to raise industry bars. Community manager Amelia Korzycka confirmed the Geralt-themed skin is coming to Diablo IV as an early fruit of the partnership.

The skin gives Battle.net buyers of Songs an immediate crossover hook inside Diablo IV, while the mid-September BlizzCon slot leaves room for more detail on how the two catalogs will keep talking to each other after launch.

Analysts See 70 to 75 Million Copies

The Witcher 3 has sold more than 65 million copies since 2015 and collected over 250 Game of the Year awards. That base already generates long-tail revenue; Witcher IP sales rose 36 percent in the first quarter of 2026 even before the remaster news.

Tkocz’s note links the free Remastered drop directly to further expansion of that install base ahead of Songs of the Past. A larger pool of players who already own the complete current experience raises the odds that the paid 2027 expansion converts cleanly. The same refreshed audience sits ready when The Witcher 4, now targeting 2028 with Ciri as lead and more than 500 developers attached, finally arrives.

Offering the remaster and both older expansions free also stands out against an industry habit of charging for visual upgrades. Tkocz wrote that the approach should strengthen player trust in the company.

Trust compounds the install-base math. Players who receive Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine and the full systems pass without a new charge arrive at Songs already holding the complete classic set, which lowers the usual friction that greets a paid expansion years after launch.

Why the Free Expansions Matter Today

As of the August 25 announcement, every current base-game owner can download Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine at no extra cost. The gift removes the last barrier for anyone who skipped the DLC years ago and lets them finish the full Geralt story on modern systems before Songs of the Past opens a new chapter.

On X the free-upgrade line drew immediate crowd heat. A CD Projekt RED video manager posted that the live audience reaction to the words “free upgrade” gave him goosebumps. Fan posts repeated the same surprise and relief that a studio known for deep single-player RPGs chose goodwill over another paid remaster SKU.

1. May 2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launches
2. 2015-2016: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expand the game
3. 2022: Free next-gen update arrives for current consoles
4. May 2026: Lifetime sales cross 65 million; Songs of the Past announced for 2027
5. August 25 2026: Remastered free upgrade and free classic expansions revealed for September 29
6. 2027: Songs of the Past paid expansion targeted
7. 2028: The Witcher 4 targeting window with Ciri

The short-term gift therefore serves a longer sequence. Players finish or replay the complete classic tale on upgraded systems this autumn. They enter 2027 already invested when Letten opens. And the company carries a larger, friendlier community into the Ciri era.

Co-Development Partners Share the Workload

Remastered and Songs of the Past both rely on outside studios with direct Witcher 3 roots rather than a single internal team carrying every system and every new region.

Yigsoft co-develops the remaster and already holds experience from earlier Witcher 3 work, which suits a project heavy on visual pipelines, combat timing, UI passes and platform feature support. Fool’s Theory co-develops Songs of the Past; its leadership includes Witcher 3 veterans, a fit for a large new land that must feel consistent with Geralt’s existing story voice.

• Yigsoft: co-develops Remastered; prior Witcher 3 experience
• Fool’s Theory: co-develops Songs of the Past; leadership includes Witcher 3 veterans
• Shared aim: Blood and Wine-scale content for Letten, full systems pass for the classic game

Splitting the load lets the September 29 remaster land with path tracing, upscalers, a rebuilt skill tree and free classic expansions while Songs continues toward a 2027 release on the same platforms, including Switch 2 and Battle.net. The arrangement keeps both calendars moving without forcing one product to wait on the other.

The Remaster Prepares Fans for Ciri

Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski cast Songs of the Past as a return for veterans and a possible first step for newcomers before the baton passes to Ciri. The free remaster supplies the practical on-ramp for that handoff.

Owners on qualifying platforms can complete or revisit the full Geralt arc, both expansions included, on the updated ruleset this autumn. Songs then extends that arc into Letten in 2027. The Witcher 4 follows in the 2028 targeting window with Ciri as lead and more than 500 developers attached.

Each stage keeps the audience warm. The free drop and unlocked DLC rebuild habits around combat, signs and exploration. Songs tests whether that refreshed pool will pay for a new region at Blood and Wine’s scale. By the time Ciri takes the lead, the company has already spent two release cycles measuring engagement on modern hardware and on the new Battle.net storefront.

Tkocz’s path from more than 65 million copies toward 70-75 million before Songs ships is the commercial expression of the same sequence: grow the base while the classic game is free to refresh, then convert that base through a paid Geralt chapter on the way to the next mainline entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Witcher 3 Remastered free for existing owners?

Yes for owners on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S; the full visual and systems overhaul plus both original expansions unlock at no charge on September 29, while Switch 2 and Battle.net versions are sold separately.

What platforms will The Witcher 3 Remastered support?

PC (including the new Battle.net storefront), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and a native Nintendo Switch 2 edition all launch together on September 29, with PS5 Pro enhancements and Xbox Play Anywhere also listed.

What new content does Songs of the Past add?

The 2027 paid expansion takes Geralt to the previously unseen realm of Letten, an idyllic rural land of festivals and harvests that hides a dark secret and new monsters, co-developed with Fool’s Theory at a scale comparable to Blood and Wine.

How many copies has The Witcher 3 sold?

More than 65 million lifetime copies as of the May 2026 milestone, with analysts projecting the free remaster could help the installed base reach 70-75 million by the time Songs of the Past releases.

Will the original expansions receive the Remastered upgrades?

Yes; Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are fully included in the Remastered build and receive the same visual, combat, traversal and systems improvements as the base game.