With the release of The Witcher 3’s long-awaited next-gen update, developer CD Projekt RED has tackled the common issues gamers encounter – even offering some potential short-term solutions.
On the official website of the game forum page (opens in a new tab)CD Projekt RED has resolved known issues with the latest next-gen update for The Witcher 3 for PS5 and PC. These include outdated drivers causing the game to crash, fixes for broken mods, low tracking on PCs with Intel GPUs, and PS5 versions of DLC expansions that are not available in some regions.
In addition to acknowledging that some of these issues are still unresolved, the developer has shared tips that may help resolve others, with suggestions for updating drivers to avoid crashes and restarting the game or rolling back to an earlier version to get your beloved mods back – although that would mean playing an unsupported and outdated edition of The Witcher 3.
A troubled child
For a game approaching its eighth birthday, The Witcher 3 looks amazing for its age. In the award-winning RPG, you play as the sword-wielding monster hunter Geralt of Rivia; laconic, surly and not entirely human himself. Think Killer 3‘s Agent 47, but instead of contracting to kill people, you’re mainly chasing down bloodthirsty beasts that threaten the lives of local residents.
The new generation of The Witcher 3 update improves the game to bring it up to the standards of more powerful consoles such as PS5 and Xbox Series X│S. We already knew that brand new content, with all the technical graphics rework, may involve high costsespecially if you are already playing a modded version of the game. Even so, PS5 and PC gamers in particular seem to be suffering from more irritating growing pains.
A post on the CD Projekt RED forum lists the existing issues players are facing. As previously mentioned, the developer suggests updating drivers (opens in a new tab) for the best experience – and avoid frustrating crashes. However, you can report a problem (opens in a new tab) if the problem persists even after installing the latest drivers.
It also details that two versions of the game will be made available for people who have a hard time getting it to work – or if you really miss mods.
Of course, with so many resources being reworked and rewritten, especially updates to modified scripts will break some of them. if the promise of less junk loot it is not enough for you to replace your own mods with those provided in the update, the developer has a solution for you.
One of the two available versions of the game, the DirectX 11 version, “does not support Ray Tracing and lacks some of the general graphical improvements introduced in the free next-gen update,” the forum reads. This will act as a solution for “gamers with weaker hardware who are experiencing performance issues” and will allow The Witcher 3 to run “with mods that are no longer compatible with the game.”
However, for those who can’t quite give up their mods but want to experience The Witcher 3’s next-gen update, the post suggests starting an entirely new game.
While these fixes may help some, CD Projekt Red is currently investigating the issues thoroughly. So, if you are looking for a more permanent and reliable fix, we suggest holding off until they are implemented.