The Witcher 3 Remastered Is Making One of Its Biggest Mods Official, Creator Confirms CDPR Collaboration

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is bringing a familiar name into the official game, as HalkHogan, the creator of the popular HD Reworked Project (HDRP) mod for the game, has confirmed that they are working directly with CD Projekt Red on the upcoming release.

Their work has already been making Geralt’s world look better for years, so seeing it become part of the game itself is quite the full-circle moment. And considering just how widely the mod has been used, this is a pretty big deal for The Witcher 3.

HalkHogan’s Mod Is Becoming a Part of The Witcher 3 Remastered Itself

HalkHogan confirmed the collaboration in a new post on the HD Reworked Project’s Nexus Mods page, putting an end to questions about what would happen to their upcoming 2026 version. Their work will be included directly in The Witcher 3 Remastered when it arrives on September 29.

The scope is far bigger than a few sharper textures. According to HalkHogan, almost all characters, monsters, animals, and vegetation have been reworked, alongside armor and equipment for Geralt and Roach, and a large portion of the game’s environments. They also confirmed that HDRP will no longer be needed separately.

That is, of course, a substantial payoff for a mod that has been around almost as long as the game itself. The original HD Reworked Project launched in November 2015, only months after The Witcher 3, and its OldGen version has since passed 5.8 million downloads on Nexus Mods. The subsequent NextGen edition has also crossed 700,000 downloads since its release in January 2025.

CD Projekt RED Is Winning Fans Back One Update at a Time

It is not hard to see why this collaboration has gone down well. Mod creators and publishers can have a complicated relationship, especially when a community project becomes popular enough to rival official visual upgrades. Here, CDPR chose to bring HalkHogan’s work into the game instead of leaving it on the outside.

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There is plenty of speculation packed into that comment, particularly about the terms of the deal, but the important part is that the creator’s years of work are being carried forward officially. Another fan kept their reaction much simpler:

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The praise is not limited to this one collaboration, either. The upcoming remaster is free for all existing and future owners of the game, and CDPR has also made both Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine free for everyone who already owns the base game. Then there is Songs of the Past, the new expansion planned for 2027, followed by The Witcher 4 in 2028.

That is a long way from where the company found itself after Cyberpunk 2077 launched. Years of updates, the excellent Phantom Liberty, and continued support for The Witcher 3 have gradually repaired much of that damaged goodwill. One fan even went as far as comparing the studio’s current approach to what Bethesda could have become after Skyrim:

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The Polish studio has spent years rebuilding its relationship with its audience, and making room for the people who helped keep The Witcher 3 alive feels like yet another good way to continue doing it.

Which game’s mod would you like to see another developer officially bring into its game? And has CD Projekt RED done enough to win back your trust before The Witcher 4? Let us know in the comments below!