The Witcher—the original—is 13 years old now, and CD Projekt has probably given it away free about a thousand times previously. But if you still haven't played it, and for some reason still want to, here's another shot: The game is now free for everyone via GOG Galaxy.
To get it, you'll need to either install or update the GOG Galaxy client, then select the "Recent" view. If you don't already own The Witcher Enhanced Edition Director's Cut, you should see a banner across the top of the page: Click the giveaway button, and the game will show up in your account.
Interestingly, some users are very unhappy about the fact that the game can only be claimed through the Galaxy client and not the GOG website. "It's yet another example of GOG aggressively pushing people towards installing their crappy nonportable proprietary 'optional' spyware DRM client and simultaneously treating non-Galaxy users like second class citizens," one wrote.
Another asked, "Is there any place left on the planet where you can merely hand over money in exchange for a product, without having to sign away away your vital statistics in perpetuity to the cult of the Great Marketing Algorithm?"
Others take a more balanced view, though, pointing out that Galaxy isn't required to launch or run the game—you can install it, claim the game, and then dump the client if you want—and that GOG is unlikely to ever actually abandon its long-standing stance against DRM, since that's the one big advantage it holds over Steam.
Personally, I think the Galaxy client is quite good. It runs smoothly and does a nice job of bringing Steam, Origin, Epic, and all the rest under one roof. As an organizational tool for large, multi-storefront digital collections with integrated support for achievements and friends lists, I've found it to work very well.
But back to the point: Even if you're not terribly interested in diving into a 13-year-old RPG with some very unusual combat mechanics—and at this point, there's good reason to skip the first two games in the trilogy if you're new to the whole thing—the bonus content make it a worthwhile pickup. Along with the game, the Enhanced Edition Directors Cut also includes the soundtrack and "music inspired by The Witcher," game world maps, and other fun stuff. The music alone is worth the price of admission, especially since that price is "nothing."
GOG's giveaway of The Witcher Enhanced Edition Directors Cut through the Galaxy client will be available indefinitely. For more free stuff, be sure to hit up our list of all the free games you can grab right now, and our broader rundown of the best free games of 2020.
After playing hundreds of hours of The Witcher 3 since 2015, I can't believe I'd never heard of this mod that squashes 5,400+ bugs and restores cut dialogue
Witcher remake studio boss says it'll remake what's 'bad, outdated, or unnecessarily convoluted' without naming the sex baseball cards we all know he's talking about
