The free next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will release on December 14, bringing a slew of changes and improvements for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. CD Projekt Red revealed the upgrade will include new Performance and 4K Ray Tracing modes on consoles, as well as optional camera angles, bug fixes, additional content from the Netflix series, quality-of-life improvements, and more.
It has been over seven years since the title’s original release, and in that time there has been a Netflix adaptation and another huge release from the developer in Cyberpunk 2077, with DLC coming soon. Despite how much time has passed, The Witcher 3 is as popular as ever, and there remains a huge market of players who want to play or replay this expansive RPG. As such, CD Projekt Red needs to ensure this latest update provides the game’s definitive experience, resolving long-term issues to free up the company's resources so that it can look ahead to future endeavors.
Next-Gen Updates Need to be Witcher 3's Last
For a long time, the only way to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt above 30 FPS was on PC, since the performance remained locked on consoles. PC players were also the only ones able to enjoy more user-friendly UI elements and a customizable map through The Witcher 3's active modding community. These issues promise to be resolved in the coming update, allowing console players to enjoy hundreds of hours of gameplay with optimal settings and mod integration.
There will likely be an influx of new fans coming to these versions thanks to the popular Netflix Witcher adaption. Additional content in the update includes new gear and outfits that resemble characters from the show, and even a new quest to unlock them. A portion of these new players will have held off until the long-awaited upgrade to finally start their adventure as Geralt, so it's important that the game comes in a complete and polished form. Broken quests and dated performance need to be cleaned up to ensure the game capitalizes on its wider series’ success, in return drawing more eyes onto the show.
This also needs to be the last major update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. CD Projekt Red has a long list of projects in the pipeline, including The Witcher 4, a remake of the first Witcher game, and more in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. It is commendable that the game is still being supported with free updates after all these years, but now is the time for focus to shift toward making sure the future games are as good as can be. The disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, particularly on consoles, is still fresh in the minds of many fans, and the developer's next releases will be under greater scrutiny as a result.
This new update should keep The Witcher 3 modern and relevant for many years, ensuring it stands on-par with modern releases in terms of gameplay and performance. That will keep the game’s community active until future releases are ready. It will also allow much-needed time and resources to be invested into Cyberpunk and other projects, helping all of CD Projekt Red’s releases be of the highest quality so it can hopefully create more games with the popularity and longevity of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions launch on December 14.