The Witcher 3 next-gen update includes ray tracing, DLSS, photo mode, QoL improvements

[Daniel Sims]

Something to look forward to: CD Projekt Red promised to release a big update for hit title The Witcher 3 two years ago, as an upgrade for PC and current-gen consoles. The company has now provided final details on the expected features, including ray tracing and various quality-of-life improvements.

The Witcher and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red held a deep-dive stream this week (below), revealing details on a significant update for The Witcher 3. Initially announced in 2020, the upgrade arrives on December 14 for free to game owners on both PC and consoles.

The first change users may notice are the graphics. The studio added ray-traced global illumination, ray-traced ambient occlusion, improved textures, improved character models, better LOD distance, and other visual improvements.

Newly-added DLSS 3 (or DLSS 2 for those with RTX 2000 or 3000 GPUs) and FSR 2.1 should improve frame rates despite the heavier graphics settings. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series console users can choose between 30fps quality and 60fps performance modes.

Changes to the controls and user interface let users perform specific in-game actions more quickly, like switching magic spells. The map functionality will receive more customization options for a potentially less intuitive experience. The update will also add an optional close-up camera perspective and a photo mode.

Some of the additions to the re-release are based on community-made mods with CD Projekt Red's adjustments. Other contents in the update, like outfits and a quest, are based on Netflix's The Witcher television series, which caused the most significant game-sales spike since its 2015 launch.

The Witcher 3 previously only offered cross-progression between PC and Nintendo Switch, but the update extends the feature to PlayStation and Xbox versions. Now players will be able to transfer their saved progress between all platforms. The update also comes with bug fixes for a couple of specific quests.

The Witcher 3 Complete Edition is just one of several projects CD Projekt Red recently announced. In October, the company mentioned plans to release a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and five more Witcher games in the coming years. A remake of the first Witcher game, developed by Fool's Theory, is rebuilding the adventure in Unreal Engine 5. So it should be a massive improvement over BioWare's 15-year-old Aurora Engine.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/96758-cdprojekt-red-shares-details-witcher-3-december-14.html

 

[torchyear]

I'm assuming that under the hood it's REDengine 3 tweaked with some features from Cyberpunk's code. Sounds like this edition of Witcher 3 and the upcoming Cyberpunk DLC / patch 1.7 will be REDengine's swansong before moving to Unreal.

 

[passwordistaco]

Nitpick: Aurora engine was Bioware. CDPR licensed it for The Witcher.

 

[nnguy2]

Playthrough #6 for me

 

[dualkelly]

Playthrough #6 for me

Thats awesome 6? it took me like 6 months to finish my first playthrough haha!

 

[torchyear]

Thats awesome 6? it took me like 6 months to finish my first playthrough haha!

I must admit to checking out after getting halfway through the Blood and Wine DLC. Returned after over a year, had forgotten the entire storyline and how to use the interface. Was drinking potions left right and centre.

 

[nnguy2]

I must admit to checking out after getting halfway through the Blood and Wine DLC. Returned after over a year, had forgotten the entire storyline and how to use the interface. Was drinking potions left right and centre.

Alchemy Geralt is overpowered Geralt!

 

[randomuser99]

Time to play the game if that god damn wind and tree movement can be stopped/slowed through modding or something.

 

[nnguy2]

Time to play the game if that god damn wind and tree movement can be stopped/slowed through modding or something.

how many times does Geralt gotta tell you that "winds howling.. . looks like rain"?

 

[Puiu]

It will only take me a decade or two to finish the trilogy

 

[Mithan]

I got bored early on in the game when it came out. I look forward to trying it out again.

 

[pcnthuziast]

People gonna hate me for this, but I finally got around to trying the game last year and after 4 hours I quit. For me it just wasn't fireworks and felt like a very overrated game.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Why does DLSS warrant mentioning in the title but not FSR? You're only giving ammunition to people who think that techspot has a pro-nVidia bias when you do things like that.

I know that it seems unimportant but things like that add up to give a certain image.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Thats awesome 6? it took me like 6 months to finish my first playthrough haha!

The first time always takes the longest because you don't know what you're doing yet.

I must admit to checking out after getting halfway through the Blood and Wine DLC. Returned after over a year, had forgotten the entire storyline and how to use the interface. Was drinking potions left right and centre.

Really? I found the Blood and Wine DLC to be absolutely incredible! The Duchy of Toussaint was easily the most beautiful locale in the entire Witcher franchise and I was especially blown away by visuals in the "being in a storybook" part.

 

[torchyear]

Really? I found the Blood and Wine DLC to be absolutely incredible! The Duchy of Toussaint was easily the most beautiful locale in the entire Witcher franchise and I was especially blown away by visuals in the "being in a storybook" part.

Yeah it's a masterpiece of game production. Unfortunately I just had to put gameplay aside because other things needed doing; no fault of the game.

I actually find it easier to play Cyberpunk 2077 casually. Dip in, do some side-quests, then check out for a few weeks. Witcher 3 benefits from a bit more player commitment & time investment IMO. Much more depth in the crafting, alchemy, etc that actually seems relevant to gameplay. Crafting and netrunning in CP2077 seems shallow and tacked-on in comparison - a few streams out there of people completing the game in the nude with just a pistol.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Yeah it's a masterpiece of game production. Unfortunately I just had to put gameplay aside because other things needed doing; no fault of the game.

I actually find it easier to play Cyberpunk 2077 casually. Dip in, do some side-quests, then check out for a few weeks. Witcher 3 benefits from a bit more player commitment & time investment IMO. Much more depth in the crafting, alchemy, etc that actually seems relevant to gameplay. Crafting and netrunning in CP2077 seems shallow and tacked-on in comparison - a few streams out there of people completing the game in the nude with just a pistol.

That's a fact. It's that level of immersion that makes me adore games like Skyrim, Witcher 3 and AC: Odyssey. I can understand how it can be annoying when you have other things to do because you really just don't want to stop!