The Witcher 3 Remastered: All Versions Upgraded for Free Today

CD Projekt Red confirmed that all existing copies of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be updated with the free Remastered edition today, starting at 11 AM BST.

According to CDPR, "all versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that exist in the world - Complete, Game of the Year, and even the base game - will all become this new standard version that includes Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine by default. When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered launches, all copies on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will be upgraded for free."

The update includes detailed patch notes outlining numerous changes to the game. PC, PlayStation, and Switch 2 platforms receive specific adjustments, with the game now also supporting Xbox Play Anywhere.

Enemy behavior has been refined for many non-boss monsters, affecting their attack patterns, counterattacks, movement, reactions, flight, and the application of effects.

Roach, the player's horse, features updated collision detection and a refined jumping animation. Geralt also has improved mount/dismount animations, a new jump animation, and a new idle animation.

Photo mode sees significant enhancements, including placeable props and characters, and a first-person viewpoint. New accessibility options are detailed, alongside comprehensive lists of graphical changes and specific features like DualSense controller haptic feedback on PC.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version includes numerous Joy-Con related options for motion, mouse, and touch controls. PS5 benefits from performance improvements, with extensive graphical mode changes detailed for the PS5 Pro.

The Remastered edition enhances the entire game with re-texturing and re-lighting to align with modern visuals. It also addresses gameplay and quality-of-life concerns. This release is offered at no cost and serves as a prelude to the upcoming new game expansion, Songs of the Past.

Visual and Rendering

• Improved shading model implemented.
• Textures and models updated using assets from The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project.
• Lighting and shading for grass and foliage enhanced.
• Visual effects for Signs, including upgrades, updated.
• New visual effects for skills added.
• Native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading for better performance and visuals.
• Tone mapping updated for improved colors, lighting, contrast, and detail.
• GTAO (Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion) added as a Screen Space Ambient Occlusion option.
• Ray-Traced Local Shadows added.
• Screen Space Reflections updated.
• Screen Space Shadows updated.
• HDR calibration panel updated with new options.
• Motion Blur improved for a more cinematic look.
• Subsurface Scattering updated for more natural skin rendering.
• Terrain and material rendering improved for natural lighting, shadows, reflections, and highlights.
• New Image-Based Lighting (IBL) implemented for ambient lighting and reflections.
• Bloom reworked for improved lighting effects.

Gameplay

• Skill system improved: skills organized into a tree, each with three ranks. Unlocking requires prerequisites. Skill points have been reset.
• Skill tree rebalanced with refined bonus values, effects, and synergies.
• Some skills renamed for clarity.
• Equipment can now be reforged for appearance changes without affecting stats, available from master craftsmen. Dyes from Blood and Wine carry over.
• Combat behavior refined for many non-boss monsters, including attack patterns, counterattacks, movement, reactions, flight, and effects.
• New 'Horse control input sensitivity' slider added.
• Roach's and Geralt's movement, player control, and animations improved:
• Geralt's jump animation refined for a more natural feel.
• New finisher animations for Geralt added.
• New idle animations for Geralt added.
• Geralt's ledge climbing, ladder climbing, vaulting, and combat gap closing animations improved for fluid movement.
• New exploration camera with increased FOV added.
• New dynamic combat camera added for better visibility.
• Target-lock switching improved when moving the camera in combat.
• Collision avoidance while riding Roach updated.
• Animations for mounting/dismounting Roach, cantering, and galloping polished.

UI/UX

• Meditation now uses a timelapse for immersion.
• Skill screen reorganized into an intuitive skill tree layout.
• Map screen updated for easier switching between tracked quests. Untracked quests have distinct markers.
• Maximum markers on the map increased.
• New map markers added.
• Herbs, boats, and corpses can be hidden on the minimap.
• Quest notifications combined into a single HUD notification.
• Nearby loot grouped into a single window.
• Loot feed added to display recently collected items.
• Item tooltips added to the loot window.
• 'HUD Configuration' section renamed to 'Interface'.
• CD PROJEKT RED Account connection, My Rewards, and telemetry consent menus updated.

Photo Mode

• Photo Mode UI updated with expanded features:
• Choice of different characters to place in shots.
• Poses and expressions for Geralt and placed characters added.
• Confirmation prompt before exiting Photo Mode.
• Camera position can be locked.
• Option to apply different environment presets.
• Option to save camera presets.
• Screenshot aspect ratio can be changed.
• First-person camera mode added.
• Camera collisions with objects and walls can be toggled.
• Weather and time of day can be changed.
• Intensity of weather effects adjustable.
• Rule of Thirds lines toggleable with optional cinematic black bars.
• Camera coordinates visible in UI.
• Option to hide surrounding NPCs.
• Placeable props added.
• Cursor visible in Photo Mode on PC with a mouse.

Accessibility

• New Accessibility section added to Settings.
• Bard's Ballad preset added for reduced cognitive load. Customizable options include:
• Vitality Regeneration Boost (adjustable activation threshold and rate).
• Infinite Breath (no oxygen limit while swimming/diving).
• Unlimited Item Durability (gear does not wear down).
• Unlimited Boat Durability (boats are indestructible).
• Ignore Item Weight (no carrying capacity limit).
• Faster Boats.
• Toggle Witcher Sense (can be toggled on/off without holding).

Quality of Life

• Tutorials streamlined for conciseness.
• Option to quickly disengage from combat added (hold dodge, press sprint).
• Loot can be collected without dismounting Roach.

Modding

• Cross Platform Mod Support added via mod.io for easy browsing and installation.
• Engine, UI, and other improvements for REDkit to aid mod creators.

Fixes

• Issue with Right Stick Sensitivity access from main menu fixed.
• Stick Sensitivity can now be set to 0.69.
• HDR settings appearing on consoles fixed.
• In The Eternal Fire's Shadow - Forgotten Wolf School Gear Diagrams display issue fixed.
• Wine is Sacred – Fast traveling out of Toussaint during a specific objective could block progression; this fix is not retroactive.

Other

• Ukrainian text localization added.
• Xbox Play Anywhere support added.

PC-specific

• Path Tracing support added.
• NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 support added, with Ray Reconstruction.
• AMD FSR 4 support added, including Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2.
• Intel XeSS 2.0 support added, with Frame Generation and Low Latency.
• Ray-Traced HairWorks added for improved hair lighting and shading.
• DualSense controller haptic feedback support added.

PlayStation-specific

• Multithreaded rendering on PlayStation 5 implemented.
• PlayStation 5 Pro support added:
• PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) introduced.
• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and uncapped frame rates supported.
• Updated Graphics Modes:
• Ray Tracing Mode targets 60 FPS with enhanced lighting.
• Performance Mode offers higher resolution targeting 60 FPS, up to 90 FPS on VRR displays.

Nintendo Switch-specific

• Nintendo Switch 2 support added, with Switch 2-specific features:
• 4 playstyles: Handheld, Pro Controller, Dual Grip (Motion Controls), and Mouse Sensor.
• Motion Control Patterns (Always Enabled or Horse Only) for various gameplay actions.
• Mouse Sensor (Always Enabled or Dynamic) with 3 control schemes.
• Gyroscope Aiming Mode supported.
• Touch Screen input supported in menus, dialogue, world map, Gwent, and Photo Mode.
• Joy-Con 2 HD Rumble for varied vibration feedback.
• VRR in handheld mode and HDR support.
• Dedicated Motion Controls tutorial.