Announced last year in September, we’ve known that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would be getting a next-generation upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but recent troubles at CD Projekt RED surrounding the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 cast some shadows on that exciting news. CDPR has now reconfirmed that The Witcher 3 next-gen update is still being worked on, and is scheduled for the second half of 2021.
When The Witcher 3 PS5 and Xbox Series X versions launch, they will be free upgrades for those who already own the game—also available to purchase separately if you somehow don’t own it yet. Releasing as the Complete Edition with all expansions and content, the next-gen update will feature “a range of visual and technical improvements — including ray tracing and faster loading times — across the base game, both expansions, and all extra content.”
CD Projekt RED also given a studio strategy update that recommits to the expansion of The Witcher universe, and rather than developing franchises in sequence, they are reorganizing the studio infrastructure to be able to work on multiple IPs (namely Cyberpunk and The Witcher) in parallel. They’ve also committed to more partnerships and tie-ins, including mobile game development (there’s an AR Pokemon Go-like game coming for The Witcher), TV shows, and more in order to expand and create additional value for the franchises.
Even releasing nearly six years ago, players are still finding myriad secrets hidden throughout The Witcher 3, such as the secret Kaer Trolde elevator that was found last year. The franchise has already sold more than 50 million units, and that’s before it gets launched on next-gen consoles with all of the impressive features that the new tech will enable to studio to implement.
Of course, the next-gen update for The Witcher 3 isn’t taking the studio’s attention away from Cyberpunk 2077. The latest update, patch 1.2, released yesterday, with hundreds of fixes and improvements in an effort to salvage the botched launch of the game. Next-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077 are still on track for later this year as well, according to the studio.
The Witcher 3 next-gen update is set to arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC sometime in the second half of 2021. No more specific dates have been given.
