CD Projekt Red has shared the release times for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's upcoming next-gen update for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The Witcher 3 is now well over seven years old, but with CD Projekt Red having been focused on Cyberpunk 2077 for so long a next-gen update for The Witcher 3 had been put on the back burner. That's going to change soon, though, with The Witcher 3 arriving on PS4 and Xbox Series X/S starting December 13/14.The next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be a substantial update to the game in more ways than one. It starts with robust visual improvements and new graphical updates, many pulled from popular mods released over the years. These mods will also substantially change The Witcher 3's gameplay with balance changes and quality of life improvements. There's also a new questline, plus rewards related to The Witcher Netflix series and plenty of bug fixes. CDPR also promises some surprises.As for when everyone will be able to access The Witcher 3's next-gen update, it's going to depend on which platform they are using. On PlayStation, the update will be delivered on December 14 at midnight, local time. On PC and Xbox, the update will be delivered December 14 at midnight GMT. That means the United States will actually be getting the update on PC and Xbox early. Specifically, it arrives at 4:00 PM PT/7:00 PM PT on December 13.
While next-gen consoles are certainly the focus of the upcoming The Witcher 3 update, it's not exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The update will be available to everyone on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, too. Further, the update is free for everyone that already owns the game. The PS4 and Xbox One won't get the visual improvements and graphics options, obviously, but they'll get the gameplay adjustments, bug fixes, and Netflix content.
The Witcher 3 update has been a long time coming. Plans were to launch the update in 2021, with Saber Interactive developing the upgrade. That's a story on its own, but CD Projekt Red eventually took over development itself. This led to a delay into 2022, and a year later the update is nearly ready.
This will be a great opportunity for both fans of The Witcher and new players to try out the game for the first time. Older fans can experience The Witcher 3 in an entirely new way, more polished than ever before. New players can experience what may be the best version of The Witcher, prepared for their fancy next-gen consoles. What matters, though, is that The Witcher 3 is a great game with or without an update. This is just a great excuse to play it again.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, Swtich, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions launching December 14.