The Witcher 3 PS5 and Xbox Series X update is finally coming later this year
Geralt is coming back to consoles, and he'll look better than ever
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: The Witcher 3 is back
🙌 The Witcher 3’s long-anticipated new-gen update arrives December 14
⌛ Fans have been waiting for over two years for the PS5 and Xbox Series X patch
✨ Expect ray tracing, faster load times, and a bunch of visual improvements
🆓 It’s free for all current owners of the game
A free, new-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on December 14 later this year.
Developer CD Projekt Red confirmed the update’s final release date in a tweet, promising more details and that gameplay will be revealed on its Twitch channel next week. The patch will be free for everyone who already owns the game.
It’s certainly a long time coming. Originally teased back in 2020, before the new-gen consoles had even been released, the update was scheduled to launch last year before being delayed to early 2022. After another delay, CD Projekt Red announced it had taken ownership of the project from Saber Interactive, which handled the game’s port to Nintendo Switch.
The new-gen update could well earn The Witcher 3 a spot on our pick of the best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games, although we’re still in the dark as to what, exactly, it will offer. CD Projekt Red has previously mentioned visual and technical improvements, including ray tracing and faster loading times.
Those would be welcome, although we’d also love to see audio enhancements like 3D spatial audio, DualSense features such as haptic and adaptive trigger support, as well as improved NPC behavior alongside rebalanced gameplay and in-game economy systems.
Cyberpunk 2077’s next-gen update introduced a bumper crop of changes when it rolled out earlier this year, ranging from major visual overhauls to granular gameplay tweaks. The situation was a little different there, though. Given the game’s incredibly poor reception, CD Projekt Red looked to be scrambling to add everything it could to the game in order to meet people’s dashed expectations.
The release of this new The Witcher 3 patch won’t be the end of Geralt and Co’s adventures in The Continent. CD Projekt Red recently announced a remake of the first game in the trilogy – 2007’s The Witcher – is currently in the works. It’s being built in Unreal Engine 5 and will be joined by a new trilogy of Witcher games, a multiplayer Witcher title, and a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.
Fingers crossed that the Cyberpunk follow-up will learn from the issues of the original’s launch, and this Witcher 3 update will leverage the power of Sony and Microsoft’s flagship systems.