The Witcher 3 Remastered Announced — Free Upgrade September 29, Native on Switch 2

An 11-Year-Old Classic, Rebuilt Again

CD PROJEKT RED used Gamescom 2026 Opening Night Live to announce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, a sweeping upgrade to the 2015 original that touches visuals, performance, and gameplay alike. Two details did the heavy lifting: the release date is right around the corner — September 29 — and existing owners get it free.

The reveal trailer offered a brisk look at sharper visuals and reworked combat, and it caught fire the moment it aired. It is unusual for a studio deep into a new project to circle back, lovingly overhaul a game that has sold for over a decade, and then hand it out at no cost.

Release Details at a Glance

The remaster ships across every current-gen platform, but the standout line is the native Nintendo Switch 2 version — the first time The Witcher 3 runs natively on Nintendo hardware rather than via cloud streaming.

What Changes — Beyond a Fresh Coat of Paint

This is not a resolution bump. The improvement list CD PROJEKT RED shared reaches past graphics into core gameplay systems.

Transmogrification and the skill tree revamp are especially welcome. Fans long wished they could wear a favorite set of armor regardless of its stats — now they can — while the progression system has been retuned to modern RPG sensibilities.

Expansions Free Too — The Weight of the Owner Bonus

One line worth pausing on is the free expansions. The two previously paid add-ons, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, become free for existing owners. Both are widely regarded as some of the finest expansion content ever made, so bundling them with a free base-game upgrade effectively hands owners a complete edition again, at no charge.

This is less pure generosity than a bridge to what comes next — pull in as many new and returning players as possible with the free remaster, then convert them with fresh paid content down the line.

Songs of the Past — A Paid Expansion in 2027

Alongside the remaster, CD PROJEKT RED showed a first look at a third paid expansion, Songs of the Past, which sends Geralt to an entirely new region. It is slated for 2027.

The sequencing is clear: a free remaster in September 2026 widens the audience, and a paid 2027 expansion recoups the investment. With The Witcher 4 in development, it reads as a play to stretch the previous IP's lifespan as far as it will go.

Community Reaction — "It's Free?"

The word that dominated the response was "free." Multiple outlets called it the most unexpected reveal of the show and said they were shocked it carried no price tag. An IP that could easily have been resold as a paid remaster was instead handed over as a free upgrade — and that decision sits at the center of the praise.

For players outside the West, The Witcher 3 has long been a benchmark open-world RPG thanks to its sprawling narrative and strong localization. Native Switch 2 support is a particular draw, opening the door to touring its vast continent again in handheld mode.

GamePeak Wrap-Up

Rebuilding an 11-year-old classic and giving it away is an unusual call — one backed by a clear calculus of fresh player acquisition and a runway toward the next paid expansion. The reveal was reported by CD PROJEKT RED, Game Informer, and TechRadar.