Witcher 3 developer shows off next-gen update

The Witcher developer CD Projekt has shown off its long-awaited next-gen update for The Witcher 3, with improved visuals and enhanced performance.

The Witcher developer has shown off new details of the upcoming next-gen update to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, an update that fans have been waiting for ever since the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 launched in late-2020.

A new trailer uploaded to the official Witcher YouTube, accompanied by a blog post on the game’s website, has shown off massively improved visuals, increased performance, new and changed quests, and even some content from the Netflix show.

In terms of improved visuals, CD Projekt says the update will bring ray tracing, improved screen space reflections, better foliage, better textures, and just generally more stable and consistent performance. It will also support FSR 2.1 and DLSS 3 support on platforms that support those features, which should improve visuals and performance across the board.

CD Projekt has also detailed some of the new features coming in the update, including a new option for a closer camera, an option for quickly casting Signs, the ability to filter icons on the map, and dynamically hide the minimap depending on what’s going on in the game to make for a more immersive experience.

This is in addition to a brand new photo mode that will let players frame and take photos at any time, the inclusion of fan-made mods, and cross-progression so players can move their save files between different platforms. It will also fix a few issues that were present in a couple of the original game’s quests, something that fans have been asking for for a while.

To top it all off, the game is even getting new DLC based on the Netflix Witcher show, including alternative looks for Dandelion and Nilfgaardian soldiers, and a few quests inspired by the show which will apparently unlock new equipment for Geralt. The next-gen update is currently scheduled to launch on December 14.

CD Projekt RED announced new Witcher and Cyberpunk games in a low-key tweet last month. The company announced it had five new games in the works, including three new Witcher games, a Cyberpunk game codenamed Orion, and a game in a new IP it’s calling Hadar.

In other games news, EA has had to apologise over a series of “rude” tweets, after its Need for Speed account Twitter account got “a bit caught up in the hype” of the upcoming Need for Speed Unbound release. The account posted a series of tweets insulting followers who had complained about an early access feature, which it later deleted and apologised for.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.