The Witcher 3: Remastered interview | Release date Sept. 29, 2026 | Wishlist Songs of the Past

In late September, the surprise arrival of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, brought droves of people back to Geralt’s search for Ciri, his battles against the monsters (beasts and humans) of The Continent, and the political intrigue woven into the world. The game has never been better than right now, making it the perfect time to grab it.

But the remaster is more than just a visual upgrade. CD Projekt Red has subtly transformed (Membuka di tab baru) their 13 year-old game into a modern classic that can stand alongside current and future releases.

I talked to Joanna Wieliczko-Masios, Senior Publishing Producer at CD Project RED about what went into this overhaul and how it sets up the future of the franchise.

“In a way, we’ve always been working on improving The Witcher 3, even since launch”, said Wieliczko-Masios. “We look at the remaster as the culmination of over a decade of support for the game, and a lot of that is closely linked to the fact players all over the world have continued to play and replay it so much over the years. Which is, just, amazing! With that level of support and feedback from the community, you never lack information on what can be improved.”

That feedback has resulted in more than just the performance and graphics upgrades you’d expect for a remaster, but touched on every aspect of the game. It turns out you can “remaster” things like difficulty and progression, as well as lighting.

According to Wieliczko-Masios: “The goal for Remastered was to bring this beloved RPG up to more modern standards, while obviously retaining the soul of the original. Technological improvements to lighting, with ray tracing and even path tracing, help you literally see the game’s world in a new light, but I think mechanical gameplay changes were a pretty easy one to decide on early. A game that came out in 2015 is going to feel a certain way, no matter how well it holds up, so working on changes to combat, progression, and movement all go toward the goal of helping The Witcher 3 feel more familiar to a contemporary RPG player.

“I think Bard’s Ballad — the suite of accessibility options new to Remastered — is worth shouting out here. I don’t think such a preset would have been anywhere near as common in 2015, but now you do see much more customizability to help players of all kinds. You can go into the settings and tweak many variables with Bard’s Ballad. You can turn off item weight and item durability, for instance, or enable infinite breath while underwater, and much more. Overall, Bard’s Ballad is designed to help reduce cognitive load — for players who experience mental fatigue or have difficulty concentrating, for example. It streamlines gameplay by simplifying certain mechanics and disabling select features for a smoother, more focused adventure. It feels very in-line with player expectations in 2026.”

The game’s progression overhaul should make it feel like a more modern experience, even to people who know the game intimately.

Wieliczko-Masios added: “The progression system change is probably one of the most noticeable ones for veterans who know their builds, know the balance of the game and Geralt’s skills. With the system reimagined and presented differently, with so many tweaks and changes to what’s available now, building a character I think feels fully fresh.”

One of the many surprises in the Remastered package was the inclusion of the game’s two critically acclaimed expansions—Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine—with the base game. It’s a grand gesture for both long-time fans and newcomers alike.

“It felt like a natural, right move. We weren’t focused on just remastering the base game experience, disconnected from the expansions — that wouldn’t really make sense, right? So working on all of them together and treating them as one core experience, that philosophy carried through to the game you can play now. The game and the expansions came out between 10 and 11 years ago. We always wanted it to be a free upgrade, and if you only ever had the base game before and you get the remaster for free, the expansions being added felt like the best way to present Remastered.”

And it’s forward-thinking. The work put into the update went “hand-in-hand” with the development of the next expansion pack, Songs of the Past.

“While working on Songs of the Past, figuring out what we wanted to do with a new story and a new region, it gave us a full-scale view of what kinds of things we would want to change given the chance,” explains Wieliczko-Masios. “And the chance was right there! We’re building on a game so long after launch, so working on what already existed side by side with Songs of the Past helped us ensure both experiences feel connected. So sure, it’s helped because the two are so closely related.”

Songs of the Past’s announcement came as a surprise to many. As it happens, it’s a story that has been planned for years. It just needed the right set of circumstances.

“It does still feel a bit surreal to be talking about a new expansion to The Witcher 3, but the fact is this story of Geralt and Dandelion was first thought of many years ago. We never really had the occasion to make it a reality, to the standard it deserved. Now, with our team working on The Witcher 4, we found a perfect partner in Fool’s Theory to revisit this story and make it happen. And Fool’s Theory has a number of Witcher 3 veteran developers on board, so there is absolutely a natural connection.”

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is available now on the Epic Games Store, and you can already wishlist the eerie, folklore-inspired expansion, Songs of the Past.