Biggest Changes in the Next-Gen Update - The Witcher 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

Originally released in 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has received a Next-Gen update for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This update comes with overhauled graphics, a new questline, and enhanced gameplay options. This guide will highlight the biggest changes you'll find in this Next-Gen Update.

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Graphics Improvements

There is a new update to the upgraded visuals. These include general, console, and PC improvements and Photo Mode.

General Improvements

Most art assets for the game have been reworked, meaning players can expect to find a higher level of quality in nearly every asset in the game. Grass and foliage have been improved, environment detail and complexity have been increased, character and enemy models have been updated, and there are enhanced textures being used everywhere.

Building for better hardware has also allowed the team to increase the game’s streaming budget, which means the game can load more high-quality assets at any given time. For example, you will be able to see smoke from a village from much further away or notice more enhanced geometric detail in city areas like Novigrad.

Console Graphics Features

If you are playing on PS5 or Xbox Series X, you will find new Performance and Quality Modes. The Quality Mode on console is much closer to the experience you can have on a PC’s Ultra settings targeting 4K, and it’s where you will find some of the biggest next-gen features, such as:

• Ray Traced Global Illumination
• Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion
• AMD FSR Upscaling
• Dynamic Resolution Scaling
• Enhanced Screen Space Reflections

The Performance Mode forgoes most of these advanced features for a higher frame rate cap at 60FPS (versus 30FPS), but you will still be playing the game with enhanced asset quality, so the choice will be up to you as to whether you prefer playing with a smoother gameplay experience or with all of the next-gen bells and whistles.

Players on Xbox Series S have different options to choose from between a 30 FPS mode and a 60 FPS mode. We don’t know many details yet about what will change between these two modes to allow for the difference in performance, but Series S tends to offer lower resolutions and fewer features than Series X does in general, which we expect to be the case here too.

PC Graphics Features

PC players are gaining access to all of the quality mode features mentioned, as well as AMD FSR and Nvidia DLSS Upscaling for their respective graphics cards. PC players also get access to a suite of “Ultra+ Settings” that can only be found on PC. These settings aren’t a preset so much as they are a group of settings that allow you to tweak parameters such as crowd density, draw distance, and foliage density.

Photo Mode

To capture these new graphics, the game now includes a Photo Mode where you will be able to change the time of day, adjust camera settings, and more.

Gameplay Additions and Improvements

There are a number of bonus features that have been added to the game as options. If you want the classic Witcher 3 experience then that is still available by default, but it’s worth checking the Options Menu for the new settings.

Quick Sign Casting

The new Quick Sign Casting mechanic removes the need for the Sign Radial Menu. Usually, to use a sign, you would bring up the radial menu, which would slow down time while you make your choice before exiting the menu and using the Sign you chose. Now, by holding a button, your standard combat actions are temporarily replaced with sign buttons, allowing you to use any of the five signs seamlessly without going into a menu. This is similar to the Quick Combat settings from Final Fantasy VII Remake, where you can map quick actions to the face buttons and access them in real-time by holding down another button first.

Close-Up Camera Modes

There are new Camera Modes to choose from in the Menus that allow you to bring the camera in much closer to Geralt for a more cinematic over-the-shoulder feel. You can independently set the camera distance for when Geralt is walking, on a horse, in a boat, or in combat, so you can find the balance that works best for you.

Dynamic Minimap and Objective Box

You can now have the Minimap and Objective description box fade in and out from your Heads up Display dynamically to allow for a more immersive exploration experience without removing it from your toolkit entirely. Just press the Witcher Sense button to bring them back if you want to look at them again.

Map Filters

A new filter mode has been added to the map screen, which allows you to filter out certain icons like Questions Marks and Dock Locations. This drastically reduces clutter on the screen and allows you to treat the map more as a guide and less as a checklist of things to do, which can help to preserve a certain sense of mystery.

DualSense Integration

Players on PS5 have the added bonus of playing the game with new Haptic feedback and Adaptive Trigger implementation of the DualSense. You can feel this most in combat when you cast different signs, as each one rumbles and resonates differently, and you can also feel Roach galloping through the haptic feedback as well.

Additional Improvements

There are a few additional improvements added to the game.

Netflix Series Outfits and References

As was announced earlier this year, the Next-Gen Update will include various references to The Witcher Netflix series. You can find alternative outfits from the show for Geralt, Dandelion, and the entire Nilfgaardian army in the pause menu, and there is also a brand new quest as part of this update that rewards the player with a set of armor from the series.

• In the Eternal Fire's Shadow

Cross-Save, Cross-Progression, and Cloud Saves

By signing into your GoG account on your platforms of choice, you will be able to sync your save files across multiple platforms, allowing you to take your saves with you wherever you are playing thanks to cloud saves.

Subtitle Scaling

You can now increase the size of the subtitles throughout the game, including Normal Subtitles, NPC Chatter, and Dialogue Option Font sizes. You can find this in the Display menu in the settings.

Pause During Cutscenes

You can now pause the game during cutscenes. In the original release, this was impossible, and for a game as long as The Witcher 3, there was undoubtedly some moment where players needed to pause the game during a pivotal story moment or cutscene.