Witcher 3 Expansion Surprises Voice Actors, Handheld Players Wait

CD Projekt Red’s Songs of the Past announcement surprised even Geralt and Dandelion’s voice actors—but for handheld players, the real shock is the wait. The expansion, revealed at Gamescom 2026, is built on a concept CDPR shelved years ago, and it won’t arrive until 2027. That’s a long stretch, but it also means the studio has time to make sure the accompanying Witcher 3 Remastered finally delivers on portable hardware.

The original Witcher 3 was a small miracle on Switch, but it demanded compromises everywhere: blurry textures, cut draw distances, and a frame rate that rarely held steady. With a full remaster inbound, the question is whether CDPR will treat Steam Deck and Switch 2 as first-class citizens—or leave them with the same old performance compromises.

The 2027 Wait Is a Feature, Not a Bug, for Portable Players

The voice actor chaos is a reminder that CDPR runs a tight ship on its projects—but the expansion’s long development cycle is actually good news for anyone who wants to play this on the go. CDPR has already shown it can revisit old ideas with new technology: the original Witcher 3’s Switch port, while compromised, proved the game could exist on a handheld. A 2027 release means the remaster will likely target the next generation of hardware, aligning neatly with the Switch 2’s lifecycle and the current Steam Deck era. It also gives the studio time to optimize for AMD’s APUs and perhaps even take advantage of frame generation tech that’s just now becoming viable in portable form factors.

That doesn’t mean we should expect miracles. CDPR hasn’t disclosed a single performance target for the remaster on any platform, let alone handhelds. But the gap between announcement and release is actually a positive signal: it suggests the studio isn’t rushing a port, and it’s taking the engine work seriously. For players who’ve endured the original Switch version’s sub-720p lows, patience is likely to pay off.

Steam Deck and Switch 2: The Handheld Remaster That Could Finally Stick

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about Witcher 3 on portable PC hardware: it runs, but it’s never been great. On Steam Deck, the original game is playable but thirsty—battery drains fast and you’ll need to accept some visual cuts to keep frame rates steady. A remaster built for current hardware could change that math—if CDPR chooses to optimize. The company has historically been good to Steam Deck, and Witcher 3’s Deck verified status suggests the studio cares about the platform. But the remaster’s success on handhelds will depend on whether it’s a glorified settings bump or a true engine overhaul. Fool’s Theory, the studio CDPR tapped to revive Songs of the Past, doesn’t have a long handheld pedigree, which raises some eyebrows.

The Switch 2 is another question entirely. The original Switch version of Witcher 3 was possible only because of aggressive dynamic resolution and a heavily cut back world. If the remaster imposes higher minimum specs, the first Switch will almost certainly be left behind. Given the expansion’s 2027 target, it’s likely CDPR is building for the Switch 2 as its portable baseline—which is exactly what handheld players should want. We just can’t confirm that until CDPR says it.