Why CD Projekt Red is Giving The Witcher 3 Remaster Away for Free
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
CD Projekt Red explained that The Witcher 3 Remastered will be entirely free for existing owners, born from a series of happy accidents alongside the development of a brand new expansion.
As reported by Eurogamer, CD Projekt Red never seriously considered charging players for the newly announced Remastered edition of The Witcher 3. Joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski revealed that the idea for a massive overhaul snowballed organically while the studio was collaborating with developer Fool's Theory on a brand new expansion called Songs of the Past. What began as a discussion about modernizing a decade-old codebase quickly evolved into a comprehensive project touching everything from combat mechanics to horse riding and skill trees.
Rather than monetizing the upgrade, the studio decided to deliver it as a free gift to anyone who already owns the game, alongside bundling the classic Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions into all future base purchases. Nowakowski explained that the team viewed the remaster through the lens of player goodwill, keeping the commercial side focused entirely on the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion while letting the upgraded base game serve as a celebration of the community.
The unexpected return to Geralt's world happened through a combination of timing and shifting development priorities. Fool's Theory was originally slated to work on the upcoming remake of the first Witcher game, but technical dependencies tied to Unreal Engine 5 and the production of The Witcher 4 created scheduling gaps. That breathing room allowed the teams to dust off an old expansion concept that had been sitting in a drawer for years, giving the beloved monster slayer one more ride before the studio shifts fully toward its next generation of titles.
With the Remastered edition landing on September 29, complete with a Switch 2 version, and the new expansion following next year, CD Projekt Red is keeping players busy ahead of The Witcher 4 in 2028. It is a refreshing move in an industry where major visual and mechanical overhauls are frequently sold as full-priced re-releases, proving that player-first goodwill still has a place in modern triple-A development.
Tags: The Witcher 3, RPG, CD Projekt Red, PC Gaming, Console Gaming
Original article: Eurogamer