The Witcher 3 is getting a remaster for next-gen platforms, current owners get it for free

Cal Jeffrey

Cal Jeffrey

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In context: Many developers working simultaneously on current and next-gen versions of their game are offering upgrades to the upcoming consoles for free if owners buy or have already bought the PS4 or XB1 version. Some developers are even giving away next-gen versions of older games. CD Projekt Red is one.

On Friday, CD Projekt Red announced that it was at work on a next-generation version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The developer says it will have several "graphical and technical enhancements," including ray tracing and faster load times. It will also include both expansions and all the DLC.

The upgraded versions will be available as a standalone purchase on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Owners of the game on current hardware are eligible for a free upgrade, but CDPR did not mention how this would be distributed. Of course, you must own one of the new consoles or compatible PC hardware.

Free upgrades to the new systems is a growing trend with this generation of consoles. It's a relatively new concept. In the past, developers rarely bothered with next-gen upgrades at all, and when they did it was usually well after launch and never for free.

Of course, this is not too unusual for a player-centric developer like CD Projekt Red. It has already said customers who purchase Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One will get a free XBSX upgrade when it is available. But other developers like EA, which are well known for their greed, are jumping on the free upgrade bandwagon too.

It makes one wonder what is in it for the developer other than great publicity. The Witcher 3 is a five-year-old title. So it's not like it is a recent release trying to make it out on both consoles. Are Sony and Microsoft making it worthwhile for studios to do this? It is certainly something that will push console sales, but how does that translate for the developers?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/86640-cdpr-remastering-witcher-3-next-gen-current-owners.html

 
Love the game but does it really need a remaster? It already looks great. I'd rather they remaster the first game since it not only looks bad by todays standards it also plays like **** so I couldn't even play it for an hour.
 
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Nobina said:
Love the game but does it really need a remaster? It already looks great. I'd rather they remaster the first game since it not only looks bad by todays standards it also plays like **** so I couldn't even play it for an hour.
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I love the first game. But the combat style is... different :)

I think the free remasters are especially important on the consoles. There are small things that can be improved on a PC remaster (like the difference between Witcher 1 and Witcher 1 Remastered).

However, so many corners had to be cut to make a game like Witcher 3 work on a PS4 -- even the PS5 would probably only make it on par with what the PC can already do.
 
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It is certainly something that will push console sales, but how does that translate for the developers?
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It's in CDPR's best interests to generate more free publicity for Cyberpunk by launching a free upgrade for the existing owners, when the last big game they released was five years ago.

Much like Gearbox launched a free update to Borderlands 1, 2 and the pre-sequel, after having a similar dry-spell. Borderlands 3 has been a massive sales success.

Also, I don't think they will include this on every platform...the Switch is definitely not going to get any more definition from Witcher 3, until they launch the Switch Pro (who knows when?).
 
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I wonder if this remaster will make TW3 look any closer to the 2013/2014 teaser trailers, or it'll just be your typical cashgrab remaster with upgraded textures and downgraded lighting.
I might check it out if it's the former.
 
kapital98 said:
I love the first game. But the combat style is... different :)

I think the free remasters are especially important on the consoles. There are small things that can be improved on a PC remaster (like the difference between Witcher 1 and Witcher 1 Remastered).

However, so many corners had to be cut to make a game like Witcher 3 work on a PS4 -- even the PS5 would probably only make it on par with what the PC can already do.
Click to expand...
Nobina said:
Love the game but does it really need a remaster? It already looks great. I'd rather they remaster the first game since it not only looks bad by todays standards it also plays like **** so I couldn't even play it for an hour.
Click to expand...

I don't think the graphics or the combat are the real problem. Sure, I was utterly confused when I first started, but I gradually got used to the combat. It's the dialogue and story branching that needs to be fixed. For example, depending on the order you choose to go about quests you'll trigger cutscenes that might be out of sync with your actions or you might inexplicably lose access to some of your quests

I'm going through the game right now. Some advice for those seeking to tackle it: you'll definitely want to load the wikia page on a second monitor while you play the game to avoid severe glitches. Just beware of the spoiler tags.

As it stands, I wouldn't bother with a remaster. They'd have to remake it.
 
penn919 said:
I don't think the graphics or the combat are the real problem. Sure, I was utterly confused when I first started, but I gradually got used to the combat. It's the dialogue and story branching that needs to be fixed. For example, depending on the order you choose to go about quests you'll trigger cutscenes that might be out of sync with your actions or you might inexplicably lose access to some of your quests

I'm going through the game right now. Some advice for those seeking to tackle it: you'll definitely want to load the wikia page on a second monitor while you play the game to avoid severe glitches. Just beware of the spoiler tags.

As it stands, I wouldn't bother with a remaster. They'd have to remake it.
Click to expand...
I don't rememer having these issues, beat the game many times, no wiki or anything.
 
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penn919 said:
I don't think the graphics or the combat are the real problem. Sure, I was utterly confused when I first started, but I gradually got used to the combat. It's the dialogue and story branching that needs to be fixed. For example, depending on the order you choose to go about quests you'll trigger cutscenes that might be out of sync with your actions or you might inexplicably lose access to some of your quests

I'm going through the game right now. Some advice for those seeking to tackle it: you'll definitely want to load the wikia page on a second monitor while you play the game to avoid severe glitches. Just beware of the spoiler tags.

As it stands, I wouldn't bother with a remaster. They'd have to remake it.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you are thinking of the witcher 3? Played the game at launch and never had any of the problems you listed. A wiki wasn't around and I never felt like it was needed.

I would recommend not using a wiki to play a game like the witcher 3. That completely takes all the fun out of the choices. At that point you aren't playing a game, you are min-maxing.
 
I don't ever remember having such bugs or glitches and I clocked over 300 hours on TW3 since launch. The only thing I can complain about is combat, it's quite easy and boring with monsters several higher level than you such easy kill. At low level it's just dodge hit hit dodge hit hit and the dodge window is so big compared to say Souls series, or just get on horse and do mounted combat for extra damage which is quite easy compared to Mount & Blade. At high level if you max out any of the path (Sword, Signs, Alchemy) you will become so broken that it's not even funny, for example 2 weeks after launch I made an Alchemy build with > 10,000 Hp and like max damage resistance with cluster bomb and bullet time dodging. And all of that on Death March since Very Hard was so easy I changed to DM at around level 7.
 
Evernessince said:
Are you sure you are thinking of the witcher 3? Played the game at launch and never had any of the problems you listed. A wiki wasn't around and I never felt like it was needed.

I would recommend not using a wiki to play a game like the witcher 3. That completely takes all the fun out of the choices. At that point you aren't playing a game, you are min-maxing.
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Not Witcher 3. I was referring to the First Witcher from 2007.
 
Big companies of course never would bother. Infact, they would prefer creating new sequel just to cater to the newer hardware availability.

Which is not too smart, imho, since making a hit piece is rather difficult. Some sequel could gain more success than previous releases but most often than not, it flunk. It's a smart move by the polish company wehere fans will acknowledge and reward them well.
 
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Evernessince said:
Are you sure you are thinking of the witcher 3? Played the game at launch and never had any of the problems you listed. A wiki wasn't around and I never felt like it was needed.

I would recommend not using a wiki to play a game like the witcher 3. That completely takes all the fun out of the choices. At that point you aren't playing a game, you are min-maxing.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure he was talking about Witcher 1. I didn't have those problems -- but it is not at all user friendly. Witcher 1 is significantly different than Witcher 2 & 3.

Witcher 1 & 2 were given almost immediate remasters for free by CDPR. Witcher 3 has had patch, and expansions, but no remaster. The launch went quite well -- and isn't remotely as non-intuitive as Witcher 1.
 
kapital98 said:
I'm pretty sure he was talking about Witcher 1. I didn't have those problems -- but it is not at all user friendly. Witcher 1 is significantly different than Witcher 2 & 3.

Witcher 1 & 2 were given almost immediate remasters for free by CDPR. Witcher 3 has had patch, and expansions, but no remaster. The launch went quite well -- and isn't remotely as non-intuitive as Witcher 1.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember I actually dropped playing the witcher 1 and didn't pick it up again until the enhanced edition. The story of the game is good, really good IMO. It's just that the gameplay is very bad.
 
Nobina said:
Love the game but does it really need a remaster? It already looks great. I'd rather they remaster the first game since it not only looks bad by todays standards it also plays like **** so I couldn't even play it for an hour.
Click to expand...
A remaster doesnt hurt, especially for games that are of this caliber. Look at GTA5, or better yet The last of Us 2 that released last year also got the next-gen touch, I'd it really that surprising that The Witcher 3 gets one to? Lol
 
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