The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is out now, and CD Projekt Red has confirmed something unusual: every existing copy of the game upgrades for free. First revealed at Gamescom back in August, the remaster re-textures and re-lights the entire 2015 RPG — and it costs existing owners nothing.
Every Copy Becomes the New Standard Version
CD Projekt Red told Eurogamer the upgrade applies to every version of the game sold since 2015. “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,” the studio said in a statement. “When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered launches, all copies on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will be upgraded for free.”
The update began rolling out from 11am BST today across PC (Steam, GOG and Epic), PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Even a bare base-game purchase now includes both expansions by default — one of the most generous upgrade policies we’ve seen since the remaster was first detailed.
Skill Points Reset, Combat Tweaks and a Much Bigger Photo Mode
The detailed patch notes reveal the scale of the update. The skill system is reworked into a proper skill tree — every skill now has three ranks, unlocking is based on prerequisites rather than spending points, and yes, your skill points have been reset. Equipment can now be “Reforged” at master craftsmen Yoana and Hattori to change its appearance without touching stats, non-boss monsters get polished attack patterns, counterattacks and reactions, and Roach has updated collision detection plus a refined jumping animation. Geralt gains new finisher and idle animations, a new exploration camera with a wider field of view, and a dynamic combat camera.
The overhauled Photo Mode lets you place multiple characters and props, shoot from a first-person viewpoint, change the weather and time of day, and save camera presets. A new accessibility section adds the Bard’s Ballad preset with options like Infinite Breath and Unlimited Item Durability, while PC players get cross-platform mod support via mod.io and the game becomes an Xbox Play Anywhere title.
The PC Specs: GTX 1660 Minimum, RTX 5080 for Path Tracing
On PC the remaster adds path tracing, DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XeSS 2.0 — but the new system requirements show the cost. Running the game on Low at 30fps takes a modest GeForce GTX 1660, Radeon RX 550 XT or Arc A580 alongside 12GB of RAM. Path tracing at 4K 60fps, however, demands an RTX 5080 with DLSS and frame generation, an Intel Core i9 13900K or AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and 24GB of system RAM. Every configuration needs a 60GB SSD. PS5 Pro owners get PSSR upscaling support with a Performance Mode that reaches up to 90fps on VRR displays. If you somehow do not own the game yet, the Complete Edition is currently half price.
The Road to Songs of the Past
Eurogamer’s hands-on impressions call it “an extraordinarily generous upgrade that doesn’t change the game, but does make it new again” — a free overhaul of an 11-year-old single-player game that, as reviewer Robert Purchese puts it, shows “a level of support and generosity I don’t think I’ve seen for any other single-player game, ever.” It does not fundamentally redesign the combat, but it visually refreshes the entire world and paves the way for next year’s new expansion, Songs of the Past — which requires a finished main campaign. For anyone planning a replay before the expansion arrives, there has never been a better time.
Sources
- Eurogamer — All versions of The Witcher 3 “that exist in the world” will be upgraded with the free Remastered edition today
- Eurogamer — The Witcher 3 Remastered is an extraordinarily generous upgrade that doesn’t change the game, but does make it new again
- PC Gamer — The Witcher 3 updated system requirements are in, and you will need an RTX 5080 for path tracing