"The Witcher 3: Remastered" will launch on September 29, with a free update available to all existing owners. This substantial update brings numerous improvements, including a revamped combat system, reworked skill trees, optimized horse controls, armor transmogrification, and an expanded photo mode. Even if CDPR had treated it as a brand-new title and charged existing players again, the public might have understood. However, CDPR's Co-CEO Michał Nowakowski stated that they never considered that option from the start.
Recently, Michał Nowakowski spoke with the foreign media outlet TheGameBusiness about the decision to offer a free upgrade for "The Witcher 3: Remastered." He stated, "To be honest, we never even discussed charging existing players for the remaster. In our view, this is an enhancement and a gift to our loyal fans—that's just how CDPR operates. Of course, if you haven't purchased the game before, you'll need to buy it in full. However, we're also offering benefits to new players by bundling the base game with both major expansions."
The "The Witcher 3: Remastered" project came about unexpectedly. While CDPR and Fool’s Theory were developing the new DLC "Old Times," they aimed to modernize the older game, gradually evolving from scattered small fixes into a complete remastering effort.
Nowakowski said, "At the time, we asked ourselves, 'Why not give the entire game a modern overhaul? Playing it now feels like stepping back ten years.' That was where all the discussions began. We started considering what other optimizations we could make. It started with minor tweaks, fixing issues here and there, but the project kept growing. Suddenly, we realized we had essentially created a full-fledged remaster."