Honestly, it feels like a lifetime ago when we all first stepped into the mud-soaked boots of Geralt of Rivia. But if you try to pin down the exact The Witcher 3 release date, you’ll realize it wasn’t just a single day. It was a whole era of delays, midnight launches, and eventually, a massive next-gen rebirth that happened years later.
Most people just remember May 2015. That’s the "official" answer. But the road to getting there was messy. CD Projekt Red (CDPR) actually pushed the game back twice, which at the time felt like a disaster for fans waiting to see if the hype was real. You’ve got to remember that back then, CDPR wasn't the titan they are now; they were just the "scrappy Polish studio" that made a cult classic sequel.
The original May 2015 launch and the delays that saved it
The very first The Witcher 3 release date was supposed to be in late 2014. Then it was February 24, 2015. Finally, the studio put out an open letter admitting they weren't ready. They needed 12 more weeks to squash bugs.
It eventually landed on May 19, 2015. (Though some regions saw it on May 18 depending on time zones).
Looking back, those delays were probably the best thing to ever happen to the RPG genre. Imagine if Geralt’s journey had launched with the same technical "quirks" that Cyberpunk 2077 had on day one. By waiting until May, they gave us a game that, while still a bit buggy at the start (remember Roach floating in mid-air?), was fundamentally solid enough to win Game of the Year.
Important timeline of the 2015 launch:
- Initial Announcement: February 2013.
- First Target: Late 2014.
- Second Target: February 24, 2015.
- Final Release: May 19, 2015.
When did the expansions actually drop?
The base game was just the beginning. If you're looking for the "complete" release date, you have to look at when the story actually finished. Hearts of Stone came out on October 13, 2015, introducing us to the terrifying Gaunter O'Dimm.
📖 Related: Why Zelda Ocarina of Time N64 Still Hits Different Decades Later
Then came the big one. Blood and Wine arrived on May 31, 2016. This wasn't just a DLC; it was a 30-hour swan song that moved the setting to Toussaint. This is essentially when the game became "whole." Shortly after, on August 30, 2016, CDPR bundled everything into the Game of the Year (GOTY) Edition.
The 2022 "Next-Gen" Re-Release
Fast forward seven years. CDPR decided that the The Witcher 3 release date needed a 21st-century update. On December 14, 2022, they dropped the "Next-Gen" update for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
It wasn't just a resolution bump. They added:
- Ray tracing (which made the sunsets in Velen look incredible).
- Integrated community mods like HD Reworked Project.
- A brand new quest inspired by the Netflix series (The "In the Eternal Fire's Shadow" quest).
- Full cross-progression between platforms.
Kinda crazy that a game from 2015 was still receiving major, game-changing updates almost a decade later. It’s why people are still talking about it in 2026.
💡 You might also like: Finding the Skyrim Curious Silver Mould Without Losing Your Mind
What about the Switch and the rumors?
We can't forget the "Switcher." Against all laws of physics, the game launched on the Nintendo Switch on October 15, 2019. It looked like Geralt was smeared in Vaseline, but it was fully playable on a handheld, which was basically magic at the time.
Lately, there’s been some weird chatter. Rumors from late 2025 and early 2026 have been floating around about a "surprise" tenth-anniversary content drop. Some Polish insiders have even suggested CDPR might release a final, small DLC or a major modding tool update in May 2026 to celebrate ten years since the original launch. CDPR hasn't confirmed a new expansion, but with the "REDkit" modding tools now out, the community is basically making their own sequels anyway.
Summary of every major release window
| Version | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Original Launch (PC, PS4, Xbox One) | May 19, 2015 |
| Hearts of Stone Expansion | October 13, 2015 |
| Blood and Wine Expansion | May 31, 2016 |
| Game of the Year Edition | August 30, 2016 |
| Nintendo Switch Version | October 15, 2019 |
| Next-Gen Update (v4.0) | December 14, 2022 |
How to play it the right way today
If you’re just starting now, don't just buy the base game. You want the Complete Edition. This version includes all the 2022 technical upgrades and both massive expansions.
Basically, the The Witcher 3 release date is less of a point in time and more of a decade-long evolution. Whether you played it on a clunky PS4 in 2015 or you're firing it up on a high-end rig today, the game holds up because of that extra time CDPR took to get it right.
Next steps for players:
Check your game version. If you are on a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and playing the "Game of the Year" disc, make sure you've manually downloaded the free Next-Gen upgrade from the store—it's a separate file, not just a patch. If you're on PC, ensure you've enabled the "DirectX 12" mode in the launcher to access the ray-tracing features added in the 2022 update.