CD Projekt Red used the closing slot of Gamescom Opening Night Live to announce The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered, a September 29 release that arrives as a free upgrade for everyone who already owns the 2015 role-playing game.
The studio described the remaster as more than a visual pass. Video Games Chronicle reported that the update covers enhanced combat, reworked traversal, new sound effects for certain powers, a revamped skill tree and a transmogrification system, alongside cross-platform mod support, an immersive meditation option, refined animations, new quest tracking, a looting rework, updated textures, HDR improvements and new accessibility features. Polygon noted that the announcement trailer showed Geralt hauling himself over fences, scaling ladders and leaning in the saddle to avoid trees, and that item management and the photo mode have also been reworked.
Speaking on stage at Opening Night Live, CD Projekt Red level design lead Miles Tost singled out the visuals and the fighting.
My favorite [new feature] is the visuals. That's new textures, updated rendering, advanced path tracing, foliage, you name it. Geralt has never looked this good, even after all those years of retirement.
Tost added that combat is "more modern, smooth and precise," citing an updated camera, a reworked targeting system, new animations and new finishers, and said the ability system had been rebuilt to widen the options open to players.
Expansions bundled in, and a Battle.net debut
Owners of the base game receive the two existing expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, at no cost as of the announcement, according to Eurogamer and Polygon. Wowhead reported that the remaster is also coming to the Battle.net launcher for the first time, where players will be able to convert gold into Battle.net Balance to offset the purchase price. Video Games Chronicle reported that the remaster is releasing on all platforms.
Songs of the Past gets its first trailer
The remaster shared the stage with the debut trailer for Songs of the Past, the paid expansion CD Projekt Red announced in May and has said little about since. The trailer showed Letten, the new region Geralt travels to, and a chain whip that PC Gamer described as a weapon type new to the games. Eurogamer reported that the studio said on stage the chain is the same one Geralt uses in the trailer for the first Witcher game.
Wowhead reported that Songs of the Past is sold separately from the remaster and is due in 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Video Games Chronicle reported that the remaster does not include the expansion, but will support it once it ships. Polygon reported that CD Projekt Red has described Songs of the Past as roughly the size of Blood and Wine and as Geralt's last adventure before the series passes to Ciri. The expansion is being co-developed with Fool's Theory, per Eurogamer.
CD Projekt Red is working on several Witcher projects in parallel, including The Witcher 4, a remake of the first game and a multiplayer title set in the same universe, Video Games Chronicle reported.