The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is more than a decade old, so CD Projekt RED is preparing to give the game a major makeover. A free remaster will arrive in an update on September 29 for existing owners. Instead of focusing exclusively on graphics and technical improvements, the studio is changing several parts of the game that have remained largely untouched since its original 2015 release.

CD Projekt RED wants the remaster to feel closer to a modern 2026 release, and the improvements have apparently made such a difference that even the developers are struggling to return to the older version. “It’s so easy to get used to these new improvements that it’s hard to go back,” said CD Projekt RED Executive Producer Jakub Kutrzuba in a recent interview.

The Witcher 3 remaster might feel like a new experience

Speaking with PC Gamer, Kutrzuba explained that the previous next-gen update and the upcoming remaster were created with different goals in mind. The next-gen update was primarily designed to bring The Witcher 3 to newer consoles, so much of the work focused on technical upgrades.

“With the remaster, it is even bigger and it’s also quite heavy, maybe even heavier on the technical level. But what is more important is that we are touching these aspects of the game which weren’t touched since we launched it. I’m talking about the animation. I’m talking about the gameplay. I’m talking about the quality of life, how you actually play the game.”

Jakub Kutrzuba, Executive Producer at CD Projekt RED

With the remaster, however, CD Projekt RED is going much further and revisiting elements of the actual gameplay experience that weren’t significantly changed by that earlier update. According to Kutrzuba, the studio has worked on animations, gameplay, camera behavior, enemy behavior, combat, and pathfinding, along with a number of quality-of-life improvements. 

The team looked at areas that could feel outdated or frustrating to someone playing the game today and tried to improve them without rebuilding The Witcher 3 from the ground up. The overall goal is to make the RPG comparable to games being released today rather than simply making an older title look better.

That doesn’t mean players will be permanently forced onto the new version, though. CD Projekt RED still plans to provide an option to roll back to an older version of The Witcher 3 for those who prefer the original experience or need it for other reasons. Still, based on Kutrzuba’s comments, the studio clearly believes the remaster offers a significant improvement over the version players have been familiar with for years. Despite higher demands from the remaster, it will reportedly run fine on a Steam Deck.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.