The Witcher 3 Is Free Today, But Not Everyone Can Get It

4 hours ago 7

The witcher 3 extreme closeup geralt's eyes

Published Feb 19, 2026, 12:00 AM EST

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.

Fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are waiting patiently for confirmation of an official new DLC in the works at CD Projekt Red, a project that has been heavily rumored over the past few months. In the meantime, some Witcher fans can officially download the game for free and keep their minds off the DLC rumors for a bit.

The Witcher 3 is finally making its long-awaited return to Xbox Game Pass after being removed years ago. Starting today, February 19, 2026, The Witcher fans can finally play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition on Xbox Game Pass for free if they have an Ultimate or Premium-tier subscription (via Xbox).

The Witcher 3 Has Been Added To Game Pass

The Witcher 3 is officially back on Xbox Game Pass with the Complete Edition, and Premium and Ultimate subscribers can download and play the game for free starting today. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition includes the base game, and both story expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, totaling over 150 hours worth of content at minimum.

The Complete Edition also comes with "all additional content released for the game, alongside new items including swords, armor, and alternate outfits inspired by The Witcher Netflix series," as well as technical and performance upgrades for the Xbox Series X/S.

The Xbox version of The Witcher 3 "has been enhanced with numerous visual and technical improvements, including vastly improved level of detail, faster loading times, a range of community created and newly developed mods for the game, real-time ray tracing, and more."

If you're a Witcher fan who hasn't had a chance to play The Witcher 3 yet, or are looking for a new excuse to start another playthrough, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition on Xbox Game Pass is the perfect excuse.

Xbox Game Pass Members Can Play It For Free

Geralt pulling a thumbs up in The Witcher 3

This isn't the first time The Witcher 3 has been on Xbox Game Pass, as it was added to the service way back in 2019 and had a long stint as a free game for members until 2021, when it was sadly taken down. Unfortunately, not all Xbox Game Pass members will be able to play the game now that it's back, with it only being available for Ultimate and Premium subscribers.

This means that members of the highly popular PC Game Pass subscription, which is due to be dissolved at some point in the coming months after a recent restructuring announcement, won't be able to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt unless they purchase the game.

While it's great that The Witcher 3 is back on Game Pass, it's a shame only higher-level subscribers can access it, and on top of larger concerns regarding hidden costs and price hikes, many players have started questioning the value of their membership.