The Witcher 3 Remastered is now the highest-scoring game of 2026 on Metacritic
CDPR’s extensive update has received universal acclaim from critics
The Witcher 3 Remastered has shot to the top of Metacritic’s chart of the highest-scoring games in 2026.
CD Projekt Red‘s remaster of the critically acclaimed 2015 action RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available today on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2 and PC, both as a new standalone product and as a free update for existing owners of The Witcher 3.
The first reviews of the game started arriving on Monday, and have been universally positive, resulting in a current Metacritic score of 94.
This makes it the highest rated game of 2026 so far, ahead of twin-stick shooter Sektori (which also received 94, but is slightly lower by Metacritic’s calculations), RPG remake Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (91) and co-op multiplayer adventure Big Walk (91).
It’s not quite enough to reach Metacritic’s top 50 games of all time, however, all of which have scores of 95 or above. Instead, its score currently puts it in 63rd place, ahead of the 3DS remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Chrono Cross, and just behind Metroid Prime Remastered and Batman: Arkham City.
It does, however, better the Metacritic score of the standard version of The Witcher 3, which currently sits at 92.
Originally, announced during Opening Night Live at Gamescom, The Witcher 3 Remastered makes sweeping upgrades to the 2015 RPG. The remaster includes visual upgrades, both previous expansions, and more quality-of-life fixes.
The Witcher 3 Remastered also features enhanced combat, enhanced traversal, and new SFX for certain powers. The in-game skill tree has also received a revamp, and transmogrification has also been added as part of the update.
The Switch 2 version adds further features unique to the console, the most notable being touchscreen support, meaning those playing in handheld can choose dialogue, sort their inventory and play Gwent using the Switch 2’s touchscreen.
The Xbox Series X/S version, meanwhile, adds Play Anywhere support to the game, something The Witcher 3 didn’t previously have on Xbox. This means Xbox owners – whether buying the game for the first time or updating their existing version of The Witcher 3 – can now also download the PC version at no extra cost.
Earlier this month CD Projekt Red confirmed that its announced remake of the original Witcher game is on hold for now, while it focuses on The Witcher 3’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past.
