The Witcher 3 Is Coming to PC for Free for Xbox Owners With the Remastered Update

If you own The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt digitally on Xbox, you won’t need to buy the game again to play it on PC.

CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered will support Xbox Play Anywhere when the remastered version launches on September 29, 2026. That means eligible Xbox owners will receive access to the Windows PC version through the Microsoft Store at no additional cost.

And honestly, this is the kind of upgrade that makes sense for a game people have been playing for more than a decade.

You can start your journey on Xbox, move over to PC, and continue with your progress instead of buying another copy just to change platforms.

Xbox Owners Get the PC Version Without Buying The Witcher 3 Again

The important part here is Xbox Play Anywhere.

Starting September 29, The Witcher 3 will join Microsoft’s Play Anywhere program alongside the Remastered update. For players who own the eligible digital Xbox version, the PC version will be available through the Microsoft Store without another purchase. Shared progress, achievements and other supported account data carry across the Xbox and PC versions.

So the situation becomes pretty straightforward:

• Own The Witcher 3 digitally on Xbox.
• The Remastered update arrives on September 29.
• Xbox Play Anywhere support becomes active.
• The Windows PC version becomes available through the Microsoft Store.
• Your supported progress and achievements can carry between Xbox and PC.

The important distinction is that this does not mean CD PROJEKT RED is giving away The Witcher 3 to everyone on PC.

You still need to own the game through the eligible Xbox ecosystem.

This Is More Than Just a Free PC Copy

The timing is what makes this announcement interesting.

The Play Anywhere support arrives alongside The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, which is itself a free upgrade for existing owners on qualifying platforms. CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed the remastered version for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Nintendo Switch 2 and Battle.net versions also arriving September 29.

The remaster isn’t simply a resolution bump.

CD PROJEKT RED says it brings improvements to visuals, performance and gameplay. The official game page also highlights upgraded environments, NPC and monster textures, improved foliage, lighting and rendering changes, plus ray-tracing enhancements.

There are also gameplay-focused changes, including improved combat, traversal and movement, revamped mount handling, enhanced monster behavior, additional finishing moves, an expanded photo mode and progression changes.

So Xbox players aren’t just getting another way to launch the old version on a computer.

They’re getting access to the new Remastered version when it arrives.

Your Save Can Follow You Between Xbox and PC

This is probably the biggest practical advantage for players who already have dozens — or hundreds — of hours invested in Geralt’s journey.

Xbox Play Anywhere is designed around a shared ecosystem. Your supported game data can move between Xbox and Windows PC, allowing you to switch devices without starting the adventure from scratch.

Imagine finishing a few quests on the couch, then sitting down at your gaming PC later and continuing from there.

That’s a much more useful feature than simply receiving a second copy of the game.

For players who originally bought The Witcher 3 on Xbox years ago, it effectively opens another version of the game without forcing another purchase.

There Is One Important Catch: Steam Is Not Included

Here’s where Xbox owners need to pay attention.

The free PC entitlement is for the Microsoft Store version through Xbox Play Anywhere.

It does not mean CD PROJEKT RED will add The Witcher 3 to your Steam library.

If you already own the game on Xbox and were hoping this announcement would give you a free Steam copy, that’s not what is being offered. The Xbox Play Anywhere entitlement applies to the Windows version associated with the Microsoft Store.

The existing PC versions on Steam, GOG and other stores remain separate.

That’s an important distinction because “free PC version” can easily be misunderstood.

What About Physical Xbox Copies?

The clearest Play Anywhere entitlement applies to digital ownership.

Xbox Play Anywhere is built around digital purchases, and the reporting around CD PROJEKT RED’s announcement specifically describes the free PC entitlement for digital Xbox owners.

Physical ownership is therefore a different situation from owning the digital Xbox version.

There is also a separate Xbox Disc-to-Digital initiative, but that should not be confused with CD PROJEKT RED’s Play Anywhere announcement. The two programs are separate, and players shouldn’t assume that owning an Xbox disc automatically creates a Play Anywhere PC entitlement.

Existing Xbox Owners Also Get the Expansions

There’s another nice part of the Remastered rollout that is easy to overlook.

CD PROJEKT RED previously confirmed that existing owners of the base game will receive Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine at no additional cost. Both expansions are included with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered.

That means someone who has owned only the base game could suddenly have a much larger RPG waiting for them when the remastered version arrives.

And if you’ve somehow managed to play The Witcher 3 for years without touching those expansions, September 29 gives you a pretty good excuse to finally jump into them.

The Witcher 3 Remastered Release Date

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered launches on September 29, 2026.

CD PROJEKT RED has confirmed the remastered version for:

• PC
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X|S
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Battle.net

Existing owners on qualifying platforms receive the remastered upgrade at no additional cost.

For Xbox players specifically, the important addition is Xbox Play Anywhere support.

That means the September 29 update effectively turns the Xbox purchase into a cross-platform Xbox/Windows experience.

What Xbox Players Should Know

If you’ve been sitting on an Xbox copy of The Witcher 3, the simplest takeaway is this:

You don’t need to buy the game again on PC just because you want to play it on Windows.

The Play Anywhere support will provide the PC entitlement through the Microsoft Store, while the Remastered update brings the visual and gameplay improvements at the same time.

For players who have already moved between console and PC gaming, that’s probably the most useful part of the announcement.

You get flexibility without having to maintain two separate purchases.

And with The Witcher 3 Remastered arriving on September 29, 2026, this is also a convenient reason for returning players to revisit the Continent.

The original game has been around for more than 11 years now.

Geralt’s story is getting another excuse to pull us back in.

The Witcher 3 Remastered: Quick Facts

Release date: September 29, 2026

Xbox Play Anywhere: Yes

Free PC access for eligible Xbox owners: Yes, through the Microsoft Store

Free Remastered upgrade: Yes, for owners on qualifying platforms

Hearts of Stone: Included

Blood and Wine: Included

Steam entitlement: No — the Play Anywhere PC entitlement is through the Microsoft Store

Shared progress: Supported through the Xbox ecosystem

New expansion: Songs of the Past, planned for 2027

Bottom Line

This isn’t a free copy of The Witcher 3 for every PC gamer.

It’s better described as a free Windows entitlement for eligible Xbox owners, arriving alongside the game’s Remastered update.

If you’ve already bought The Witcher 3 digitally on Xbox, September 29 means you can take that purchase over to Windows through Xbox Play Anywhere without paying for the game again.

And because the Remastered version is also bringing visual, performance and gameplay improvements, Xbox players have more than one reason to return to the Continent this month.

FAQs