CD Projekt Red Never Considered Charging For The Witcher 3 Remaster, And Says Expansion Songs Of The Past Came From A Couple Of "Happy Accidents"

Polish game developer CD Projekt Red has clarified its release strategy for the newly announced remastered edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. According to joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski, the studio never entertained the idea of charging existing owners of the game for the upgraded version. The remastered edition, which was officially revealed at Gamescom, is set to be delivered as a free upgrade for anyone who already owns the original 11-year-old role-playing title.

The upcoming remaster is not merely a visual upgrade; it represents a comprehensive overhaul of the core game. CD Projekt Red has addressed several long-standing gameplay elements, including the game's heavily criticized combat mechanics, enemy artificial intelligence, horse riding physics, and character skill trees. Despite the extensive development hours poured into these systemic overhauls, the studio decided that offering the remaster for free was the correct path forward, aligning with what Nowakowski described as the traditional CD Projekt Red approach to player goodwill.

The origin of the remaster is closely tied to the development of Songs of the Past, a newly announced paid expansion for The Witcher 3. Nowakowski explained that the remaster project grew organically during collaborative discussions with Fool's Theory, a Polish development studio staffed by numerous former CD Projekt Red employees. As the teams began working on the expansion, they realized the base game felt dated. Initial discussions about fixing minor issues quickly snowballed into a major project, leading to the realization that they were developing a full remaster.

While the remaster itself will be free to existing owners, the Songs of the Past expansion represents the commercial side of the project. Additionally, CD Projekt Red has announced that future purchases of The Witcher 3 will bundle the game's two previous expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, as a standard package. This change coincides with an increase in the base game's retail price tag.

The decision to return to The Witcher 3 marks a major shift in strategy for CD Projekt Red, which had long considered the game's story to be fully completed. Nowakowski admitted that the studio had no plans to revisit the title until a couple of "happy accidents" occurred. One major factor was a shift in the production timeline for the previously announced remake of the original Witcher game, which is also being handled by Fool's Theory. Because that remake relies on Unreal Engine 5 technology currently being developed for The Witcher 4, it required more development time, freeing up resources.

Faced with this scheduling gap, the studio decided to dust off an old concept for a third Witcher 3 expansion that had been shelved years ago. This led to the decision to greenlight Songs of the Past and give the protagonist, Geralt, one final adventure. The Witcher 3 Remastered edition is scheduled to launch on September 29, 2026, alongside a highly anticipated release for the Nintendo Switch 2. The Songs of the Past expansion is slated to arrive sometime next year, with the highly anticipated Witcher 4 currently scheduled for release in 2028.