The Witcher 3 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X – and it’s free for current-gen owners

CD Projekt is bringing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and it will be free to owners of the current-gen version.

“We’re working on the next generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” the developer announced on Friday.

“Developed to take advantage of the most powerful gaming hardware, the next-gen edition of the game will feature a range of visual and technical improvements — including ray tracing and faster loading times — across the base game, both expansions, and all extra content.”

The next generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will release in 2021 as a standalone purchase for PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, as well as a free update for everyone who already owns the game on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The acclaimed RPG celebrated its fifth birthday in May and has sold some 30 million copies, according to CD Projekt, which recently overtook Ubisoft to become Europe’s most valuable video game company.

Earlier this year The Witcher enjoyed a boost in popularity on the back of a successful live-action Netflix series.

In February Netflix claimed The Witcher was its biggest debut season for a TV show to date, and US physical sales of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt were reportedly up 554 percent year-on year following the show’s debut.

Book sales also saw a big increase in the US, according to NPD. During the two weeks following The Witcher’s premier on Netflix, US physical book revenue was said to be 562 percent higher than during the same period in 2018.

CD Projekt will work on a new The Witcher game after Cyberpunk 2077 is completed, president Adam Kiciński said in March.

The game will not, however, be called The Witcher 4, CD Projekt’s president reportedly told press.

Developer CD Projekt Red will split into three teams following the completion of Cyberpunk 2077, Kiciński explained; two larger teams working on DLC and the previously-announced online mode, and a smaller third team to start pre-production on the Witcher project.