If you have a PC, PS5, or XBox X/S with a copy of Witcher 3- rejoice! CD Project RED is giving us some free stuff in the coming weeks. Available immediately are the two expansions for the game. At the end of September we get a remastered version of the game with improved gaphics and gameplay tweaks.
This is all in preparation for the forthcoming Songs of the Past expansion coming in 2027 which, of course, won’t be free.
What is being given?
CD Project RED announced the freebees at Gamescom and gave dates for the releases. The expansions are available immediately and consist of these two items:
These should be available for free in the game store for your platform already: IGN has more detailed instructions for getting your hands on the expansions if you have any questions.
The second big giveaway is the remastered game itself. This will be coming on September 29 and includes visual improvements to the game plus tweaks to skill trees and Geralt’s finishing moves. In terms of visual changes things like updates to general lighting, ray tracing, motion blur, and UI elements will be getting a polish. There are easily a dozen or so other adjustments and changes to game behaviour in the update like cross platform mod support allowing the console platforms to use the same mods as the PC users do.
Note that the remaster requires a current generation console or PC: so if you have an older PS4 or XBox One you need not apply. This makes perfect sense: the visual changes alone demand significant extra horsepower from the consoles, and attempts at supporting previous generations have often caused more trouble than they are worth. But there are certainly people who have Witcher 3 on these older platforms who may feel left out.
Why?
I suppose I could assume that CD Project RED is giving all of this great stuff to us because they are wonderful people who love their audience. My observation is that CD Project RED really does care about their audience and has higher standards in that regard than many developers or publishers. So my positive thinking about possible motivations may be true, but I also think there are some ulterior motives.
There is a third paid expansion planned for Witcher 3 coming sometime next year by the name of Songs of the Past. Re-igniting interest in the game prior to then with these wonderful gifts is likely to have a positive effect on sales of the new DLC when it arrives. That seems like a strong business motivation for the publisher, kind of like trying to tie in release of a Fallout game or expansion with the popularity of the Fallout TV show.
As for myself I certainly appreciate the kind arrival of free updates to a game I enjoyed a decade ago, but I suspect I won’t be taking advantage of the offers CD Project RED is giving. When I finish a game I am generally “done”: I don’t replay it or come back to it for more. I don’t know why this is: something about having trod upon a gaming path once renders revisits less desirable to me. I think some of it is a sense that I have to relearn the whole game just to get back to where I was turns me off.
For more “normal” people who love replays, getting a graphical overhaul and game improvement plus two free expansions for no cost seems like a pretty good deal. I’ll be keeping an eye open to see if there are any amazing things about the updates that might draw me out of my usual “play it once and I’m done” gaming style.