The release of v4.0 caused a massive resurgence in searches for "free downloads."

CD Projekt Red’s sister company, GOG (Good Old Games), pioneered the distribution of AAA games without Digital Rights Management [2].

It is one of the most pirated games in history, yet it has sold over 50 million copies [1].

Many modern games require online servers to run. When servers shut down, the game disappears.

(2016). Speech on Piracy and DRM at infoShare 2016 .

This made acquiring "free downloads" of The Witcher 3 incredibly easy, as cracked executables were not required. 3. The Impact of Version 4.0 (Next-Gen Update)

This demonstrates that piracy is often driven by a desire for the "definitive" or best-performing version of a piece of software, rather than just a refusal to pay. 4. Game Preservation vs. Piracy