The Witcher 3 Shows Publishers How To Do Remasters Right


There may be no better way to build hype for upcoming paid content than by giving something meaningful back to the people who already supported you. Yesterday, CD Projekt Red released the highly anticipated “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered.” Announced a little more than a month ago at Gamescom 2026, the remaster is available for free to previous owners of the game on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S, and includes the two previously released DLC campaigns at no additional cost. All of this comes ahead of the upcoming paid DLC, “Songs of the Past,” which releases in 2027.


After installing it myself and spending the first few hours playing, I realized that the model CD Projekt Red followed here should be adopted by more publishers going forward. The free upgrade path, which was also used by Xbox Game Studios with the release of “Gears of War: Reloaded,” is a goodwill gesture that rewards the gamers who helped make these titles successful in the first place.


“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered” also helps renews interest in an established title and gives new players an opportunity to discover a franchise they may have otherwise missed. Those who didn't own it before can purchase the game at a discounted price, although that appears to be a sale price and won't remain at that level forever.


In recent years, the way some publishers have handled next-gen updates and remasters has left a bad taste among gamers. For many, it doesn't sit well to have to reach into their wallets again for an updated version of something they already purchased. The Witcher 3 demonstrates how a publisher can revisit an established title without making existing customers feel as though their original purchase no longer counts.


Both Sony and Nintendo have taken different approaches over the years, with varying results.


Sony, especially earlier in the PS5 generation, offered several free or lower-cost upgrade paths. However, some of its more controversial decisions have involved re-releasing popular titles such as the original “The Last of Us.”


“The Last of Us” was originally released for the PS3 in 2013. A year later, Sony reissued it for the PS4 as “The Last of Us: Remastered” without a free or discounted upgrade path. At the time, this was heavily criticized, particularly as other publishers were offering vouchers for free PS4 upgrades, such as Activision did with “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” Then, a few years ago, Sony reissued the game yet again as “The Last of Us: Part 1” for the PS5. The PS5 release also offered no free upgrade path to existing owners, instead launching at full price.


Nintendo has done its fair share of remasters over the years as well. Arguably, a large portion of Nintendo's first-party lineup for the original Switch consisted of remastered and upgraded versions of Wii U titles, many of which didn't offer previous owners a way to upgrade.


Take “Kirby and the Forgotten Land,” which was originally released on the Switch. If you want to upgrade your copy for Switch 2, you don't have to purchase the entire game. However, you do have to pay $19.99 USD for the upgrade, which includes the new console enhancements along with the “Star-Crossed World” additional content.


This is a good example of Nintendo charging existing customers for additional content and technical enhancements without forcing them to buy the entire title again. Theoretically, however, the Switch 2 enhancements themselves could have been provided at no additional cost, with the $19.99 charge reserved for the new content.


CD Projekt Red is showing that there is a business model that can work for both gamers and publishers. You can potentially attract new customers by offering an update to an established title with a free or low-cost entry point, while simultaneously generating renewed interest in the franchise. That newfound attention can then help build anticipation for upcoming projects like “The Witcher IV” and future DLC such as “Songs of the Past.”


It is hard to argue that this isn't a win-win for both the consumer and the business.

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