CD Projekt Reveals Complete Updated System Requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, Including Ray-Tracing and Path-Tracing

Background: A Free Upgrade With a New Hardware Bar

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is a free upgrade for the base edition of the CD Projekt Red-developed, CD Projekt-published fantasy action-RPG, and its PC system requirements now show the hardware range players may need before its launch on Tuesday 29th September. The published list includes the previously announced minimum PC specs and the recommended, ultra, ray-tracing minimum, ray-tracing recommended, and path tracing configurations. The original 2015 PC edition does not need to be bought again for the base game to receive this upgrade.

The timing was framed tightly: the Remastered edition launches tomorrow, Tuesday 29th September, and the coverage even joked that a reader using a 90s Casio desktop organiser would still have enough time to react. For returning players, the practical question is not whether they need a second purchase, but whether their existing PC can move from the minimum and recommended settings into the heavier visual modes that put Geralt's scarred face under ray tracing and path tracing.

The $2000+ mega-PC line in the original write-up is best read as a joke about the top path-tracing tier, not a blanket requirement for everyone. The full table was published in a CD Projekt blog post, with image credit CD Projekt, and it separates standard play from the more demanding ray-tracing and path-tracing presets.

Development Process: From Benchmarks to Compatibility Rules

CD Projekt said the FPS targets shown in the table came from its QA tests. The studio also warned that frame rates may fluctuate from scene to scene and during gameplay. That gives readers a clearer way to use the table: the numbers describe test conditions, not a guarantee for every town, battle, cutscene, or open-world traversal.

The update also changes two support assumptions. First, the Remastered edition introduces an SSD requirement. Second, CD Projekt is ending support for Windows 10. The studio said the game will not necessarily stop running on Windows 10 with the next update, but it no longer develops or tests on that system and cannot guarantee compatibility or performance going forward. It also said it supports only components that continue to receive official updates from their manufacturers.

For players, that support rule shifts the decision from raw CPU and GPU numbers to a broader question: will the platform still have vendor-supported drivers and system updates? A PC that launches the game today may not be treated as fully supported tomorrow if its parts no longer receive manufacturer updates.

Latest Developments: Rollback Paths for Skeptical Upgraders

The requirement list arrived alongside mixed reactions among returning players to side-by-side visual comparisons. The more obvious reason to take issue is that a hardware upgrade may not be affordable, especially if the new path-tracing or ray-tracing tiers are the main selling point. CD Projekt's rollback guidance softens that risk.

Rollback availability depends on the platform. CD Projekt said users can revert to an earlier version of the game (1.32, listed as Classic). Once The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered is out, the 4.04 version will also remain available as a fallback. Version 4.04 refers to the previous next-gen remaster update, initially released in 2022.

These fallbacks matter because they split the upgrade decision into layers. A player can stay on the classic or previous next-gen build while a friend or newer PC explores the Remastered visual modes. It also reduces the chance that the free upgrade becomes a forced loss of the familiar version.

Future Timeline: Songs of the Past and The Witcher 4

The discussion did not stop at the Remastered edition. The roadmap extends to Songs of the Past expansion, which will launch in 2027, paving the way for The Witcher 4 in 2028. The article's resident Witcherphile Mark expressed even more doubt about that expansion, because he regards the Blood and Wine expansion as giving The Witcher 3 a perfect ending.

Spoiler warning: this refers to a major conclusion of the Blood and Wine storyline, without naming its plot events. The point is not to spoil the ending, but to show how some long-time players may view late-stage expansions with skepticism when the original game already had a strong closing arc.

Current Stage: What Tuesday 29th September Means Now

At this stage, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is about to launch on Tuesday 29th September as a free upgrade for the base edition. Readers should treat the full PC requirement list as a decision tool. Minimum and recommended specs may be enough for standard play, while ultra, ray-tracing minimum, ray-tracing recommended, and path tracing settings demand stronger hardware and may push some players toward the $2000+ mega-PC example used in coverage.

Players who prefer not to follow the visual upgrade can rely on 1.32 Classic or, after release, version 4.04. Meanwhile, the studio's support focus is moving away from Windows 10 and toward systems and components that continue to receive official manufacturer updates. The immediate value of the new requirements is not hype: it lets PC owners decide before Tuesday 29th September whether to upgrade, wait, or roll back to a version they already know works.