The Witcher 3 Remastered: Free on Switch 2 with a Borrowed Cartridge

CD Projekt Red has promised to give The Witcher 3 Remastered to everyone who owns the base game. On the Nintendo Switch 2, this promise now has a surprising consequence: according to reports, a borrowed cartridge of the old Switch version is enough to permanently unlock the new edition.

How does the free unlock work on Switch 2?

According to descriptions from Nintendo Life, GamesRadar+, and Kotaku, the process is as follows:

Insert The Witcher 3 Switch 1 cartridge (2019 version) into the Switch 2.
Start the game and select the in-game eShop link for the free Remaster upgrade.
Follow the instructions and download the digital version.
After downloading, remove the cartridge – the digital version remains in your library.

The cartridge is therefore only needed for proof of ownership. Anyone who knows a friend with the old version can get the Remaster without extra costs this way. According to reports, multiple accounts could even be unlocked with the same cartridge.

Is this a loophole or a gift to the fans?

CD Projekt Red had expressly designed the upgrade rule to be generous: owners of the base game, digital or physical, were supposed to receive the Remaster. The fact that the verification only checks the inserted cartridge and not the account is a technical consequence of this system. Whether CD Projekt Red will leave this behavior as is or adjust it later is not yet known. We have not seen an official statement on this.

What should you keep in mind now?

If you want to play the Remaster on Switch 2, it's worth asking around your friends. But plan for storage space and read our assessment on the confirmed file size and potential pitfalls on Switch 2 before downloading. How much the Remaster impresses overall is also shown by it becoming the best-rated game of 2026 with 94 points.

From our perspective, this is a point of goodwill for CD Projekt Red – especially in an industry where upgrades often cost extra. However, it remains fair, especially if you also support the game yourself, for example, by purchasing the DLCs.