Fans of The Witcher 3 will never turn down a brand-new upgraded version, especially one that doesn't reset save files, trophies, or achievement progress. However, the recently announced remaster is far more than just simple graphical improvements. Everythinggj from horse riding to photo mode has been adjusted, and dozens of new features have been added. To help everyone better understand its scale, CD Projekt Red suggests viewing it as The Witcher 3 version 2.0.
At Gamescom 2026, Paweł Sasko told Kotaku: "When you look at The Witcher 3 and consider player and media reviews, you'll find that gameplay was the most criticized aspect—and also the most outdated. This is precisely the main issue we wanted to address."
He continued: "Looking at player and media reviews of The Witcher 3, gameplay was the most criticized aspect—and also the most outdated. This is exactly the main issue we wanted to address. Since we were involved in the 2.0 update for Cyberpunk 2077, this remaster feels almost like a comprehensive 2.0 upgrade for The Witcher 3.
We applied design concepts learned from the REDengine 4 used in Cyberpunk 2077 to REDengine 3. We analyzed what players were most dissatisfied with—such as the exploration system, Geralt's movement controls, and the lack of finishing moves. These issues have all been addressed, and these improvements significantly enhance the overall gameplay experience."
The reason the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion "Phantom Liberty" feels like a completely new version of the game is not just due to performance improvements and overall quality adjustments, but also because of a thorough overhaul of core systems, streamlining cumbersome gameplay mechanics to make combat more engaging.
The last major upgrade for The Witcher 3 was primarily aimed at enhancing visuals to leverage more powerful gaming consoles. In contrast, all content in this remaster is designed to fundamentally improve the gameplay experience.
Sasko pointed out: "In the original game, different character builds shared too many passive skills. Now, we've added more active skills rather than just passive ones, making combat more interactive. New moves and synergies will let you immediately feel the impact of your choices in battle. We've also introduced new tools, such as chains. Chains were mentioned multiple times in the original novels and appeared in famous scenes like the CG opening cinematic of The Witcher 1, so I'm glad we could finally integrate this dynamic element into combat."
Just like with the 2.0 update for Cyberpunk 2077, most of the underlying enhancements and changes for The Witcher 3 will be included in the free remaster upgrade pack coming in October. Typically, having to relearn combat mechanics and skill trees from scratch can be troublesome. But for The Witcher 3, I'm actually looking forward to it.