The Witcher 3 Remastered has already broken its own Steam concurrent-player record, just hours after launching. The 11-year-old game hit a new peak of 114,696 players simultaneously on Valve’s platform, according to SteamDB, a massive 258% jump from last month’s 31,959.
The record was previously set in January 2020, when the Witcher TV series arrived. Back then, 103,329 people played The Witcher 3 at once on Steam. That number has now been surpassed, with the remaster reaching its highest-ever mark in the game’s long history.
The Numbers Behind the Record
The comparison is stark. Last month, 31,959 people were playing The Witcher 3 on Steam. Today, the number sits at 114,696. That is a jump of 258%, and it happened within hours of the remaster going live.
It is worth noting that these figures only capture Steam players. There are likely a huge amount of people playing on Xbox Series X and S, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and on other PC platforms such as GoG and Battle.net. The total audience across all those systems is almost certainly larger than the Steam-only count suggests.
The numbers will likely keep climbing throughout the week. As people head into the weekend, they will have more time to jump into the game. Because the remaster is a free update for anyone who already owns The Witcher 3, the barrier to entry is low — as long as you have a decent gaming PC.
Why Players Are Returning
CD Projekt Red has packed a whole laundry list of improvements into the remaster. The changes touch everything from the graphics to Roach’s running animations. The game now includes path tracing, but that feature requires an absolute beast of a gaming PC to run properly.
The remaster launched with some growing pains. It wasn’t working properly on AMD graphics cards at launch. That issue has since been fixed with an AMD graphics driver update.
The combination of free access and fresh content has clearly drawn players back. The game remains a major draw for anyone who has spent time with Geralt before.
What the Remaster Adds
The remaster is not a new purchase for existing owners. It is a free update for anyone who already owns The Witcher 3. That means the installed base is large enough to support a substantial return of players.
The improvements cover a wide range of areas:
- Graphics upgrades across the board
- New running animations for Roach
- Path tracing support, though it demands a powerful PC
- Fixes for the AMD graphics card issue
IGN has published a full suite of guides to help newcomers navigate the remaster. These include a guide to the things The Witcher 3 doesn’t tell you, a walkthrough of the base game and expansions, and a guide to all the major quests and choices. There is also a sex and romance guide, which outlines who Geralt can smooch and all the opportunities to do so.
For players looking to build a stronger monster hunter, there are guides to all the Witcher gear locations, Places of Power locations, and even Gwent card locations.
The Weekend Could Push the Count Higher
The weekend is a natural moment for players to spend more time with the game. People will have more time to play, and the free update means almost everyone who owned the original can jump right in.
Whether the numbers hold through the coming days depends on how well the game performs. For now, the early signs are excellent.
The record is broken, and the weekend is still ahead.
Source material: “The Witcher 3 Remastered Has Already Broken Steam Concurrent Player Record,” IGN.
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