The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is finally presented in the next-gen version. Gameplay from the PC version in 4K and with Ray Tracing

We heard about the next-gen release of the popular The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in September 2020, a few weeks before the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series launch. The Saber Interactive team was initially responsible for the development of the enhanced version, but this year CD Projekt RED abandoned the collaboration and finally the producer announced the termination of the work. Initially, the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 was supposed to appear before the release of the next-gen Cyberpunk 2077, but finally we will have to wait for the premiere until December 14th. Today, CD Projekt RED is finally showing off its improved work.

CD Projekt RED has finally presented the next generation version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for PC and PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series consoles.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – We’ve learned the final release date for the next-gen version of the game

The next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will appear on both current-generation PC and consoles and will be offered for free to those who already have the game in their library. However, it was not mentioned if there will also be a physical release on consoles at the time of release. As for the changes, they concern both the visual layer and the purely gameplay layer. In the first case, we can count on the implementation of textures and models in 4K resolution, support for Ray Tracing technology or NVIDIA DLSS 2 and AMD FSR 2.1. Interestingly, DLSS 3 was not mentioned during the presentation, so we don’t know if the final version of the technology will appear on December 14 on PC or later.

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Real-time global illumination (RTGI) ray tracing technology was used as well as improved reflectivity and perimeter occlusion. In the case of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, we can count on two picture modes – quality and performance. In the former, we’ll also get Ray Tracing, both in the context of global illumination and reflections. However, the cost of this will be high, because in quality mode we will play at 30 FPS – only Performance will provide 60 FPS, but without Ray Tracing support. It has also been confirmed that AMD FSR 2.1 will be implemented for consoles, as happened with Cyberpunk 2077. In turn, the PC version will have a new preset for graphics settings: Uber Plus, where we will get better quality of textures and shadows or more intense and beautiful vegetation. The available materials confirm the best quality, but at the moment it is difficult to say that we will get a version that is fundamentally different from its predecessors. On the other hand, the gameplay shown on Twitch had such bad compression that many details were definitely overlooked. Closer to the premiere, we will definitely be evaluating both the PC and console versions.

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In terms of gameplay, the biggest change will be the ability to choose a camera placed near Geralt – we will use it during exploration and combat. Thanks to this, the presented material was closer to the first part, since the camera was also placed closer to Geralt’s back. There will also be minor changes, namely the improvement of the quality of scenes, the option to enlarge subtitles in the game, or the implementation of a photo mode. Another novelty is the support for cross-save, thanks to which we will be able to transfer what has been saved between the different platforms. We’ll also receive a few items inspired by the Netflix series The Witcher (in the material we saw, among other things, the hallmark, the round wolf medallion), and the Dandelion will also receive an alternate skin. The next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will hit PC and consoles on December 14 this year.

Source: CD Project RED