The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - The Biggest Changes in the Next-Gen Update

More than 7 years since the original game released, The Witcher 3 is receiving a Next-Gen Update for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on December 14, bringing overhauled graphics, a new questline and enhanced gameplay options to the revered title. The best part is, it’s completely free for anyone who previously owned the game! Here are the biggest changes that you’ll find in The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Overall Graphics Improvements
01:35 - Console Graphics Features
02:42 - PC Graphics Features
03:08 - Photo Mode
03:18 - Gameplay Additions
03:36 - Sign Quickcasting
04:11 - Close-Up Camera Modes
04:28 - Dynamic Minimap and Objective Displays
04:43 - Map Filters
05:02 - DualSense PS5 Integration
05:25 - Netflix Series Outfits and References
05:48 - Cross-Save, Cross-Progression and Cloud Saves
06:00 - Subtitle Scaling
06:10 - Cutscene Pausing

[@pjt1090]

No Reviewer has talked about the biggest change, there is no longer a pop up to accept when picking flowers, you just press A and its collected. This has single handedly made this game 10x more fun.

[@Metallian81]

Auto pickup would be even better, but I'll take this.

[@babyknight]

Great improvement

[@Holy_Sid]

@@Metallian81 Imo, they didn't implement it because of limited inventory weight and stuff like that.

[@redwind18o]

Yaaah no that’s a very very minor change you just sound like a brat if that makes such a difference for you

[@PautinoPR]

They had it in Witcher 2 i dont understand why they change it

[@Saahil_Jain]

Still can't believe how much this game is giving to the players since its release...this is surely one the best games of all time !

[@Whiterun_Gaurd]

The free DLC's were both amazing as well.

[@Kev376]

The update is out now!!!

[@ceramicmagic4169]

Wait the update is free?

[@Maggpiee]

*THE best game of all time

[@Kev376]

@@ceramicmagic4169 Yes of course, witcher 3 is the best game ever made after all it's only natural.

[@AjDuzIT]

Haven’t played this game in a few years and can’t wait to play it again with updated graphics. Game and characters left an impact on me like no other game.

[@ShinyFlakesShinyFlakes]

Same exact thing here! Crazy how much of an effect this game has had on people all across the world!

[@Voyevoda911]

same, im still in the middle of it from a couple years back

[@mentugo]

Same. I'm definitely giving it another run. 👍

[@bobthebuilder3609]

They literally made no changes still look the same

[@vgnvideogameninja2930]

Same, it has been about 6 years since my last playthrough so am diving back in today on a 4090/i9-13900k PC.

[@thecynicalone6391]

The Cutscene pausing alone makes this update worth it.

[@adamothman1124]

Games without it should be illegal

[@bodigames]

@@adamothman1124 Or You Can just press PS button then it pauses too

[@Tombbistol]

@@bodigames The cutscene itself doesn’t pause ,it keeps on going. Games should have a in-game way of pausing the cutscenes.

[@kc-st]

For the unicorn?

[@hity7026]

Just press the xbox butto

[@emilkids4035]

the fact that the next gen upgrade is free makes you feel that the developer always wants the best experience for us.

[@Gou_Reed]

For real most other companies it would have been a full $70 with no features just lighting changes lmao

[@MusicChannel-yd6ws]

Resulting in complete crashes. Around 5 or more in 2 hours

[@dee_wade]

considering how most of this update is mods that have been available for years , id be offended if they charged for the update

[@Streifen1911]

everything thing they do they next few years shouLd be free after Cyberpunk

[@dee_wade]

@@Streifen1911 lol f'real. The update was a hot mess for me. Broken beyond a reasonable amount. Feeling like the same company that released cyber punk Not the company that released the witcher 3.. CDPR 2022≠CDPR2015 lol

[@CreateAmazment]

The new casting mechanic is by far my favorite change. Once you get used to the binds and where the signs art, combat feels MUCH faster and more fluid when it comes to casting

[@Ahrths]

wasnt that always a feature ??????

[@TacoLoverPerson]

@@Ahrths Not before it wasn't. If you wanted to change which sign you're using, you had to use the pop up menu to select it. Now you can use all signs seamlessly without the pop up menu

[@CreateAmazment]

@@Ahrths no, you used to have to hold the sign menu button down and select one then use it. now you can just hold R2 and press a face button to quick cast any of the spells without having to individually select them

[@chuggaa100]

@@TacoLoverPerson Nope. Quick swap has always been a thing. Hold L2 and use Dpad

[@finess9657]

The mechanics are sooooo much better now

[@trevorjolly8807]

I’m going full force with this new update, whole new game plus and take My time to enjoy every bit of it

[@ShinyFlakesShinyFlakes]

How many hours did you sink into it originally?

[@judgementcut2523]

haha baga magel....No this update costs you 77 $...no free man,,,No free for playors

[@mostafizurrahmanjhalak8629]

What does that mean new game plus?

[@Nurix09]

@@mostafizurrahmanjhalak8629 starting a new game on the ps5 version using imported save from ps4 version to have max level and all items from the beginning.

[@Tobbit]

same

[@commanderxcole]

As someone who has a weak bladder. Thank you for allowing the pausing in cutscenes!!

[@goostagange5193]

An option for performance during gameplay and graphics during cutscenes would be dope

[@jackpowell9276]

Great suggestion, we always want cutscenes in max glory!

[@YouTubeCensors]

Agreed. Thought about changing before cutscenes myself but figured I'd forget often and then wouldn't want to sit through the cutscenes again

[@raptorjesus889]

Played through white orchard last night and the game feels so much better, especially the combat. So seamless

[@Streifen1911]

for reaL so much faster & better

[@atharvawaikar9730]

Would have loved to see some sort of a transmog system as well but all in all, this is a quality update for sure.

[@AlwaysRetr0]

The over the shoulder camera option is honestly the best thing about this update

[@ivayloivggrigorov9959]

you must be some zombie console sheep

[@AlwaysRetr0]

@@ivayloivggrigorov9959 PC sheep actually

[@YouTubeCensors]

@@ivayloivggrigorov9959 strong with the dumb takes you are.

[@rainman632]

What you got against a console lol

[@mishkalisten]

How to switch to the old camera?

[@RKDriver]

It came over on my Xbox this evening. About 56 gb. Never played the game before and have been holding off until this update comes out.

[@mrgoolas1423]

So jealous

[@gregc.9313]

Same here.

[@NooDLES411911]

I'd give a body part to experience this game for the first time again

[@granttrusty3638]

They completely rescaled the ability trees. You’d think that’d be worth mentioning…

[@crouchingtiger1797]

I’m sorry, what?? What do you mean by rescaled? I’m hopping back in tomorrow!

[@TheGintama86]

@@crouchingtiger1797 they used mods to touch up the game so im guess they made some tweaks and added some elements

[@YouTubeCensors]

@@crouchingtiger1797 fewer points to allocate basically is what it amounts to. Instead of 5 it's 3 now.

[@vuntan]

A LOT is nerfed now. Alchemy builds are way worse. Gourmet is nerfed. IMO these were changes that just made the game harder.

[@MazeofL]

This is what a Next-Gen Update should look like. This should be the standard for all of the Next-Gen Update games, and these corporations should stop trying to make bank on their "Next-Gen Update/Remakes." Props to CD for not being greedy and actually caring about their own franchise, and providing players with a refreshing way to experience this masterpiece.

[@joeallen1481]

You just can't beat this game it's absolutely incredible

[@kenn1ld676]

Meh, overhyped as fk.

[@andreatoppi5627]

Red Dead Redemption 2?

[@Pedro_Le_Chef]

@@andreatoppi5627 RDR2 couldn't even beat RDR1

[@andreatoppi5627]

@@Pedro_Le_Chef You are talking about the story, but RDR2 "game" can definitely beat RDR1, trust me lol.

[@girthatbirth]

@@andreatoppi5627rd1 is a more complete game

[@vegaa.1645]

The lools way more beautiful! Loving the new camera angle too!

[@Lonewanderer30]

The biggest change is it doesn't work. Crash to desktop every time. CDPR are such fail.

[@rusty2793]

This. It crashes if RT is on.

[@Lonewanderer30]

@@rusty2793 It crashes in DX12 mode regardless of RT being on.

[@jjnewbold]

Definitely appreciate the pausable cutscenes!

[@deathstick7715]

A 60fps update for rdr2 would be nice

[@HwL01]

Rockstar has abandoned RDR2 for years.. Was hoping for that too or even a next gen upgrade like this.

[@cormac3981]

Would be amazing

[@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit]

No. It's already perfect

[@haunteddreams7856]

@@HwL01 it just got a Christmas update 😂

[@babyknight]

@@Nobodysurvivesevenonebithell no 60fps would make the game play 10x better u bugging

[@njnikusha]

Another 7 years will go by and game will remain as relevant and joy to play as it is now.

[@TimDaGoof]

Facts

[@kreyrfer8293]

Fact but they ruined it on ps4

[@poligrant5152]

@@kreyrfer8293 why?

[@RandoOnline_]

Both modes use FSR on console btw. You seemed to suggest that FSR is not being used on the Performance mode.

[@UncannyXander]

Yeah weird display of lacking in knowledge from them :s

[@Nostromo_TK]

Gameplay kinda weak but the story and the world/setting is amazing. Definitely worth the wait.

[@pudikshitiz8412]

Of all the important updates graphic updates gameplay updates my favourite one is the pause during the cutscenes update

[@SuperSeancon]

Cutscenes pause performance mode Witcher show gear sign switching and camera options show looking forward to heading home and replay this masterpiece

[@willh7352]

angle reminds me of the first Witcher. loving it for sure

[@JustifyTheseHeathens]

1st witcher lowkey goated

[@malzagod1429]

@@JustifyTheseHeathens first Witcher sheeped

[@TheGintama86]

Its getting a remake

[@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit]

​@@JustifyTheseHeathens glad they remake it

[@DeeDub02]

I'd really appreciate an armor ui update with the next witcher game, including a transmog. Armours were outdated pretty quick and people never wore some sets because of certain effects and such.

[@EvingaAngel]

Recently started playing it again and just done with helping the witch in the forest. Feeling very hyped over this.

[@MisterBumFluff]

How about how sprinting doesn't drain stamina now?! That's one of my favorite changes

[@AkasHYadaV-tw3zu]

Use pc mods

[@Flashchenzo]

@@AkasHYadaV-tw3zu he was saying in the new update sprinting doesn’t drain stamina…. Dummmie

[@YouTubeCensors]

Would have been better IF roach was the same LS press to sprint than A. I find myself pressing pressing that instead of A on Roach

[@CuteKitten_DD]

Just play that new quest in devil pit.. daaaammmm it gives me chill it was around 1hour quest.. boss fight was hard

[@BloopinDaThird]

PS4/XBONE & SWITCH Also have this switch to improve the game as well based on hardware. It’s there also to help you transfer the save to any platform.

[@darkangelus2313]

The Switch doesn't get the Next Gen Update. Why because Switch cant physically handle the next gen update. The game wouldnt look any better or run any better.

[@babyknight]

@@darkangelus2313can’t believe people are so dumb and still think switch could keep up with next gen smh🤦🏽‍♂️😭😭😭

[@YouTubeCensors]

@@babyknight seriously. Switch is like a suped up 360. Not even x1-ps4 level

[@babyknight]

@@KZbinCensors more like a ps vita😭😭😭😭😭

[@matt66716]

It doesn't Get the graphics but it get S the other improvements such as quick casting.

[@hyperspace1003]

Still can't believe this is 4k video with super low resolution game footage.

[@iliasshogenov5929]

There is so much love to the source material in this game

[@outie5k676]

this game has aged well

[@Stale_Buns]

Like fine wine

[@olliered9924]

@@Stale_Buns Like blood and wine

[@Stale_Buns]

@@olliered9924 like Basmati Rice

[@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit]

It's ahead of his time

[@awesomehpt8938]

Why the hell did they put the Nilfgaard scrotum armour in there? Unless it’s some kind of joke.

[@_Cetarial]

You can toggle it on/off.

[@karthikkumar6861]

It's obviously a joke.

[@zechariahhall97]

Playing on the Series S, I knew it’d be a boost, but didn’t know how it’d compare to the Series X, or PS5, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how amazing it looks/performs!

[@michaelsteffler2570]

Cope

[@neville2308]

Right it looks AMAZING

[@YouTubeCensors]

Cool!

[@jasonprendergast7493]

Pausing cut-scenes wasn’t impossible, not on the Xbox Series X anyway. You just press the Xbox menu button. It then stops then pausing the cut-scene. Done!

[@finnmcdonough7104]

Quick casting signs is brilliant

[@daxlarsen2121]

The biggest change was a drop from 120 fps on a 3080 to 40 fps. what a time to be alive.

[@daxlarsen2121]

the FIRST thing you will notice is the drop in frames.

[@rubainjason8875]

Downloading the update on steam right now.

[@twistedgamerfromhellreborn9959]

I've beating this game like 4/5 times and now with this free upgrade I'm jumping back in to beat it a bunch more😂😂 it's my favourite game off all time and am so hyped for the Witcher Remake bring it on..

[@susanoo7716]

How do you not get bored playing that many times

[@twistedgamerfromhellreborn9959]

@@susanoo7716 different endings is always great to get

[@BlazeAlien]

@@susanoo7716well the game is like 150+ hours long, so each time you play it you discover new things or things you’ve forgot. The game being a long journey like that makes it fun to replay because there’s so much to do and see each time.

[@NooDLES411911]

@@BlazeAlien I'm always down to start gwent again

[@wwh5210]

Cross platform doesn’t work if you are on the 2015 version of Witcher 3(consoles). The latest version for 2015 is only 1.62(1.60 for game save) while GOTY and next gen are both 4.0. Wish that CDPR will be releasing a patch for those who bought the original 2015 version soon.

[@YouTubeCensors]

Can't you load a 1.60> save> cross save

[@MisterBrodo]

Performance is abysmal on PC right now smh

[@Doddz321]

No it isn't

[@MisterBrodo]

@@Doddz321 yes. It is. There are multiple articles showing it. And CD Projekt has already acknowledged it on the Witcher Twitter account

[@intermilan9731]

Get a better pc bruv

[@bharatgupta5478]

Kudos to cdpr for giving out cosmetics free . If it were ubisoft , ea . They would ask another 10$ for that

[@xu517333509man2]

Gonna play with no hud and death march. Will be a memorable final Play through

[@marcvelasquez4018]

Time for my 7th playthrough :)

[@IamMcLovin69]

4th or 5th for me, lmao

[@treblemix_]

I've already had like 500 hours........

[@wazittuya4092]

Wait.. you can start ng++ from ng+ save file??

[@ryanshnoztwazzle8605]

this is awesome the graphics and the qol changes are great and loving their use of the dualsense

[@lordofsucc4467]

Beat the main story while not realizing it. So this update is definitely something to get me to replay the campaign! Gonna get the start on it tonight.

[@ajfgaming7387]

Didn't they advertise the new consoles as being able to do 4k60 with ray-tracing? Can't believe people believed that

[@DaveThompsonfairlife4all]

Is there even a GPU that can do that??

[@ajfgaming7387]

@@DaveThompsonfairlife4all The 4090 can on some games. But usually requires upscaling :\

[@tylertruthseeker4034]

It has nothing to do with the console, it has to do with the studios and how advanced and up to date their engine and tech is. Ps5 has games (like metro exodus) that run 4k 60fps with ray-tracing. It wasn’t falsely advertised.

[@BELOV3D777]

6:22 Nice to know other people also have the issue of getting our horses down from the roof our house. Glad it wasn’t only me. 😂

[@EstraNiato]

The biggest change on PC is that it's mostly unplayable on older hardware :)

[@anasshahid224]

Witcher 3 is one of my all time favorite games, the PS5 version with Dualsense integration is perfect, the graphics look absolutely amazing. 🤩

[@Umaroth]

Is the PS5 version still labeled as PS4 just updated, or does it get its own version?

[@hyunwoojung-rt]

It got its own version

[@Umaroth]

@@hyunwoojung-rt Many thanks. 🙂

[@0031497]

You need to update it in the complete version to get everything

[@mateuszkolodziejski5525]

Nilfgardian, dried-out-scrotum armour. How exciting :D But seriously other than Netflix (shame!) additions that are thankfully off by default this game looks amazing! Still the best RPG ever made.

[@adimudgal]

Quick sign casting is my favorite development!

[@tomascornick3467]

One of the biggest changes is the nerfing of some type of builds! Some players spent hours grinding towards a particular build to find it rendered useless with the update :(

[@vuntan]

I’m one of those players. :(

[@tomascornick3467]

@@vuntan ditto mate, waiting out a mod tbh

[@JayH98]

Trees before kept bothering me. Its like Cat 5 Hurricane blowing the trees where it felt a little extreme

[@themissinglink7126]

Did they really fix that? That's great!

[@YouTubeCensors]

So the wind's no longer howling? How dare you imply that!

[@JayH98]

@@KZbinCensors lmao

[@johnarevalo3450]

It's a shame we have next gen consoles yet have to miss out on next gen features if we choose performance mode

[@ahmedhamm5464]

next gen features are there you just have to play at 30 fps, if you want to max everything and get above 60 you have to drop 2k plus on a pc this is how it will always be

[@YouTubeCensors]

RT is overrated anyways. When lighting is done well it still looks great and Witcher 3 looks great without it.

[@gaymohammed3137]

@@KZbinCensors then it's not a great rt implementation.

[@gregimus13]

The quick casting is a lifesaver

[@bobbyosborne2375]

Here goes another 300 hours of my life...

[@sushantreddy3205]

To be able to pause during a cutscene..... that alone makes this update worth it!

[@frankwren8215]

The biggest change is the removal of any optimization and the addition of hundreds of bugs.

[@EmuFH]

So excited to play this!

[@DanielTheri47]

Omg the quick combat options for signing… Yessss!!!

[@MAJIMAXKIRYU69]

One change that is small but I’m pretty sure is new is that in the menu you can hear the music from the original trailer

[@XxFusionsk8rxX]

2060 Super 8gb runs ultra settings 120+, 78-92fps on Ultra+, and 28-32fps with Ultra and RT. They did fantastic optimizing the game. So excited!!!

[@JiHyunPeTziE]

Jist finished transfer my ps4 saves to ps5 ver of this game. It is epic!!!

[@yogurtyogurt8774]

This new Next-Gen update was a lot better than original, I'm going to spend my entire month to finish it once again

[@neville2308]

Same :)

[@bobbobbins4877]

Performance mode is the way to go. The visual improvements provided by raytracing are not substantial enough to justify the framerate collapses in just about every outdoor environment.

[@alexandern5296]

nilfgaard ball sack armor lets goooo

[@torchlight1785]

Bro the Netflix writers apparently wanted the Nilfgaard helmets to look like D-heads because they are “bad.” You can’t make this up…

[@Foundprodigal]

The Witcher 3, From Software games, and (some) Blizzard games will never loose their value. You can come back years later and they look and play amazingly.

[@MedskiPurnamski]

The DX12 features are still buggy in the PC release. I've had several crashes, mostly DLSS related. Some reports including mine say that the game come up with 'DLSS Not Supported' error whenever we try to enable DLSS with our RTX cards, even in rigs with cards as beefy as the RTX 3060.

[@alondite215]

Han Fiber finally looks like Han Fiber, instead of looking like Arenaria. That used to annoy the hell out of me. Performance on PC seems like it's taken a massive step down, though. And jumping is still jank as hell. So is hit detection/hitboxes. It's really just QoL changes for the most part; all of the major game design issues that it had are still there.

[@Francisco_Otero]

Nobody mentioning the load times is criminal. Went from a minute per fast travel to 2-3 seconds!

[@DeavtheDev]

How is that criminal? Sounds like an improvement to me. Unless that's what you mean and worded it terribly lol.

[@bettergaminghd4718]

what about foliage pop in on ps5?? it still persist, April 10th 2024, it breaks immersion so terribly

[@fire-typhoon123]

Like I've said.. most ppl have moved on from this game bro.. the only ones who're still actively playing the game are on PC

[@Zack-vi7is]

We're talking about CDPR bro. It's been almost 4 years since Cyberpunk released and they haven't even added NG+ or unlimited respecs. As soon as they cashed in on Phantom Liberty they moved on. They don't care about user experience. They got some positive PR to salvage their reputation now they're moving on to probably do the same thing with the next game.

[@Daedream30]

This game no need for remake, only update for enchantment like this makes this game more masterpiece

[@bluemoon1716]

Yeah if this was naughty dog they would be charging full price for this update

[@freyalunar3633]

Did they fix the lazy dismemberment texture, or anyone still turn into a bald dude when cut in half ?

[@LyonPercival]

Dualsense is so immersive, imagine the Witcher Medallion vibrating….. you *FEEL* the action and every hit is transferred to your hands 😎

[@IliterateFoo]

I’m pretty sure it does actually

[@Nostromo_TK]

You can barely tell the difference graphically save for a couple of models (on this video anyway), but I'm just glad to have 60fps lmao. That's all I'm downloading this for.

[@TheRamboss]

The difference is huge, makes the PS4 version look like garbage.

[@intermilan9731]

That's cuz you are on console. On PC, the differences are heavens and Earth.

[@julioherrera7813]

I’m underwhelmed, the ray tracing mode looks great as a still image but in motion it looks and feels terrible. The 60fps mode doesn’t look like anything special almost the same as before. I’ll say it again, developers if a mode is going to be 30fps don’t waist your time!

[@XWXS2]

It even looks worse in terms of resolution if you played this game on series x what uses the one x version

[@rowdyreverb]

Why does no reviewer bring up load times? That’s like the premier feature of the new generation…

[@seventwoseven1901]

Kinda likes the time stopping sign selection menu. Give me a moment to accurately plan my sign or next attack.

[@jakeaffleck3307]

Bro the games combat doesn’t require any thought 😂😂

[@SuperGamerzHell]

Let's not all forget this a CDPR game...which means that Cyberpunk 2077 still has hope !

[@stuarttimewell684]

Will be playing in performance mode that’s for sure

[@SunLitPandaFury]

Played this game once on Xbox One, looking forward to round 2 on the Series X!

[@toninhopavan2]

What about the greatest question. How's gwent?

[@jamaldee2355]

Lol still the same but fun as ever!!

[@Rockiddd11]

Can't wait to play this on my PS5! Just looking forward to playing GWENTTTT!!!!!

[@ahumblebarb7215]

My only hard decision is deciding to wear GM forgotten Witcher set or manticore set for nostalgia aerondight and whatever steel blade.

[@JoshuaLevy-tm3sh]

is it just me, or do the graphics look the exact same???

[@rivefall6845]

Some other company’s would sell this as a whole new game for $50 for a “remaster” crazy how much they’ve done for free

[@metaverse_8]

Awesome! Great improvement and the best part is that its free!

[@cowel8734]

This will be my 3rd play and I'm gonna try to mostly complete it all. Not going after every achievement or trophy, just wanna see it all

[@KainErrow]

A little irritated there was no comments about likely updated system requirements. Just reinstalled the game and I’m a bit anxious my specs (i9-9900k, NVidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and 32 GB RAM on a 2560x1440) won’t get me over 60 FPS on Ultra. It’s an 8 year old game.

[@mikesmodels2830]

Just started playing the update on ps5, where are the question marks on the map?

[@lordbezzington8435]

Nilfguard bawsack armour immediately being turned off

[@shanejones357]

It’s off by default. You have to turn it on

[@takeupyourcross9597]

the gift that just keeps giving

[@Syluxmaster]

super hyped to play this again on my 2013 toaster of a pc with these super high quality 10fps

[@Itsbobbbby]

Are the controls clunky for everyone? I’m finding the movement quite a chore.

[@TheAbvsyork]

It is at first. You will adapt if you continue playing

[@SeasoningTheObese]

Change the movement controls to alternate. The default movement is abysmal.

[@yokss5350]

Change the movement setting to alternate

[@kbthegoat824]

It is a clunky game, must be your 1st time playing?

[@NotYourTypicalLakersFan]

@@SeasoningTheObese alright cool

[@michaeldevore8156]

Are you saying they didn't move the barons fast travel post? We riot.

[@midrang3r]

How could you overlook the best update? Not dying from falling off one step.

[@SquanchyCatDad]

30fps should not be allowed anymore for current gen (PS5/XSX). Make 60fps mandatory as a baseline, and make developers build from there. The 40fps 120Hz modes on a few games like Horizon 2 and A Plague Tale Requiem are still weird to play and going to 60fps on a different game really shows how janky 40fps@120Hz is no matter the TV/monitor used.