The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered: Claim Free Upgrade

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered launches on 29 September 2026, and eligible owners should not need to buy it again. Existing owners on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch can receive the Remastered version as a free upgrade on the compatible current platform. It also includes Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine, and the previous free DLC packs by default.

The important part is checking the license tied to your account before you hit a full-price listing. Base-game owners also receive both expansions for free, so buying an older Complete Edition or either expansion separately is unnecessary if your existing copy is correctly recognized.

Check your owned version before buying anything

The Remastered entitlement follows the account that owns The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the relevant platform ecosystem. A copy on one store does not create a free license on every other storefront: Steam ownership applies to Steam, a PlayStation purchase applies to PlayStation, and so on. The Switch 1-to-Switch 2 offer is the platform-generation exception, provided the Nintendo Account and qualifying edition are recognized.

• On PlayStation, check whether your library shows The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Game of the Year, or Complete Edition. Any of these eligible ownership paths can lead to the PS5 Remastered entitlement.
• On Xbox, look at the installed game entry in My games & apps and confirm that your account has the Xbox Series X|S version through Smart Delivery or a prior next-gen upgrade.
• On PC, check the library entry on the same storefront where you own the game: GOG, Steam, or Epic Games Store. Standard, Game of the Year, and Complete Edition ownership all qualify.
• On Nintendo Switch, read the exact title on the home-screen tile and Nintendo eShop page. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition is the all-in-one Switch SKU; older base-game ownership needs an extra edition check for the Switch 2 offer.

Do not treat a missing old store listing as proof that you have lost access. The Remastered release replaces the current Complete Edition listing on storefronts at launch, so the name shown in your library can change even though the underlying entitlement remains attached to your account.

What happens to Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine

Every current owner of the base game receives Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine free of charge. That means a standard edition license becomes content-complete even before the Remastered upgrade is considered.

For players who already own Game of the Year or Complete Edition, nothing extra needs to be claimed for the expansions; those editions already included both. The practical change is for standard-edition owners, who no longer need to buy either story expansion separately.

Switch works a little differently because its original release structure bundled the expansions with Complete Edition rather than selling them as normal standalone add-ons. Base-game owners on the original Switch can now download Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine from the Nintendo eShop at no cost. Once installed, the main menu should show both expansions as available content.

Remastered includes both expansions on every supported platform, including Switch 2. The separate Switch downloads matter most for anyone continuing to play on original Switch before moving to the native Switch 2 release.

Free upgrade rules by platform

Platform	Who qualifies for Remastered	Check before launch	Major trap
PlayStation 5	Owners of a PS5 version, plus PS4 owners who claimed the free PS5 next-gen version.	Confirm your library shows the PS5 build rather than only a PS4 badge.	A PS4 disc cannot validate ownership on a PS5 Digital Edition because that console has no disc drive.
Xbox Series X|S	Series owners and Xbox One owners whose account receives the Series build through Smart Delivery.	Confirm the game is identified as an Xbox Series X|S version or “Optimized for Series X|S.”	An Xbox One disc requires a Series X to validate it. Series S cannot read a disc-based license.
PC	Owners on GOG, Steam, and Epic Games Store, including any earlier PC edition.	Check the same store account that owns the game and leave enough room for the new install.	A free entitlement does not override the newer PC requirements: prepare 70 GB on an SSD, 12 GB RAM, and at least a GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT-class GPU.
Nintendo Switch 2	Switch 1 owners can receive the native Switch 2 Remastered release for free when their ownership is recognized.	Check the Switch 2 eShop listing while signed into the Nintendo Account that owns the Switch 1 copy.	Digital eligibility is clear; physical cartridge validation is confirmed for launch but its final claim method is not yet detailed.

PlayStation and Xbox: make sure the current-gen license exists

On PlayStation, the key check is whether you have the dedicated PS5 version in your account library. The earlier next-gen update required a manual download rather than silently changing the PS4 install. If you only see the PS4 version, inspect the game’s product page and library version options until the PS5 build is available to download.

PS4 disc owners can validate ownership by using the disc in a PS5 with a disc drive. Keep the disc available: it remains the proof of ownership for that upgrade path. A PS5 Digital Edition cannot read a PS4 disc, so it cannot grant a digital entitlement from that physical copy.

Xbox is more automatic because Smart Delivery routes an eligible Xbox One digital license, or a validated Xbox One disc, to the correct Series X|S build. If you claimed the 2022 next-gen version, that Series library entry is the one that carries into Remastered. Check the game’s update and version information rather than purchasing a separate listing.

Disc owners need matching hardware. An Xbox One disc works for entitlement validation on Xbox Series X, which has a disc drive. It cannot be used on Xbox Series S. The same basic rule applies to a PS4 disc and PS5 Digital Edition.

PC: claim it on the storefront where you own the game

Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store owners receive the PC Remastered version free. The store may present it as an update to the existing library entry or as an alternate version attached to that entry. In either case, use the same storefront account that holds your original license; owning the game on GOG does not make a Steam version free.

Steam libraries may already label the game as The Witcher 3 – Complete Edition after the expansion entitlement changes. That is expected. The standard non-Complete listings are being removed as the catalog transitions, and you do not need to rebuy a bundle to secure the Remastered upgrade.

Before updating, back up your saves and temporarily disable installed mods. Remastered is another substantial update on top of the 2022 next-gen branch, and old script mods or modified game files can cause avoidable launch and compatibility problems. Your saves should remain intact, but a backup gives you a clean rollback point if a mod needs updating.

Switch 2: verify the free listing before paying $59.99

Switch 2 is the one platform where storefront wording deserves a closer look. The standalone Switch 2 version is priced at $59.99 for new players, but a qualifying Switch 1 owner should see the Remastered product as free when using the Nintendo Account that owns the original game.

• Digital Switch 1 owners should check the Switch 2 eShop product page with the original purchasing account. The eligible Remastered pre-order is displayed at $0 rather than the normal $59.99 price.
• Original Switch base-game owners should also claim the now-free Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine downloads from the eShop if they want the complete content set on Switch before Remastered launches.
• Complete Edition owners should confirm the exact edition name in their library, then check that the Switch 2 Remastered page recognizes it as eligible.
• Physical Switch 1 cartridge owners should wait for the 29 September launch-day claim instructions instead of buying the digital Switch 2 SKU. The physical upgrade is confirmed, but the cartridge-validation process has not been specified ahead of launch.

There is one Switch 2 complication: some regional eShop messaging identifies Complete Edition as the eligible edition, while the broader upgrade policy covers Switch base-game owners. The safe move is simple: check the exact eShop label tied to your account before paying. If the Remastered page does not show a free entitlement for your owned version, do not purchase it to solve the issue — especially if you own a physical cartridge and the launch-day validation route has not yet gone live.

The original Switch game itself is not receiving the full Remastered update. The free offer is for the separate native Switch 2 version, so Switch 1 players should not wait for their existing install to gain the new Remastered feature set.

What you get with Remastered instead of the 2022 Complete Edition

The 2022 next-gen Complete Edition already established the current PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC branch. Remastered builds on that version with updated visuals, combat and traversal improvements, a revised skill tree, armor transmogrification, expanded Photo Mode, new combat finishers, refined animations, immersive meditation, refreshed motion blur, and cross-platform mod support.

The full content package remains the same in the most important sense: base game, both major expansions, and prior free DLC are included. There is no reason to buy Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine, or a legacy Complete Edition separately to prepare for Remastered.

CD Projekt RED is also preparing Songs of the Past, a separate expansion set in the new region of Letten and due in 2027. It is separate from the free Remastered upgrade and should not be confused with the two expansions that are already included.

Final entitlement check for launch day

• Use the account that directly owns The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; a shared or secondary account may not show the free product.
• Confirm the store shows Free or Download for Remastered before accepting any full-price checkout.
• On PlayStation and Xbox, verify that you have the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version tied to your library.
• On PC, back up saves, disable mods, and reserve 70 GB of SSD space before updating.
• On Switch 2, check the exact owned edition and wait for the specified launch-day process if your Switch 1 copy is physical.
• After installation, confirm Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine appear on the main menu before assuming an expansion download is missing.