The Witcher 3 is getting a next-gen upgrade, but does it need one?
The original still holds up remarkably well, but there’s always room for improvement.
^Stay tuned after the ads for our summary of CD Projekt RED’s livestream, and our view on why The Witcher 3 deserves a next-gen upgrade.
The fabled next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was announced all the way back when we first got our hands on the new consoles, so it’s been a long time coming. It’s no surprise that it’s taken this long though, given that the firm found itself embroiled in controversy following the release of Cyberpunk 2077, which arrived in such a shoddy state on consoles that Sony infamously pulled it from sale on PS4.
Well, months of regular updates and a DLC announcement later, the Cyberpunk 2077 redemption arc is in full swing, and it seems that CD Projekt RED are determined to win back all that goodwill that they originally earned with their most celebrated and indisputably best game.
The free update will arrive on December 14th, and in addition to visual upgrades like raytracing and high-resolution textures, it will include a suite of QoL enhancements including the ability to cast different signs on the fly without having to use the radial menu, quests and items associated with the Netflix series, haptic feedback for PS5 users, full localisation for the Chinese market, and 60fps support for Xbox Series S. Oh, there’s even a few quest fixes on the way too.
CD Projekt RED could have just issued a basic performance unlock for the new machines: plenty of other studios have taken that approach, and it’s significantly better than nothing. After all, even minor updates take time and resources to roll out, requiring testing and certification which a lot of developers simply can’t justify the outlay for, especially if they’re deep in development of their next big title. The fact that we’re getting a substantial upgrade with new content, deep gameplay tweaks, and fixes for legacy bugs, is pretty astonishing.
Other studios have charged actual money for less substantial upgrades, and they’ve been well within their rights to. What a lovely Christmas treat for Witcher fans.