Full Witcher 3 update patch notes include PC-exclusive ‘Ultra+’ graphics setting
The big update goes live on December 14. Here’s the full list of what it does.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The Witcher 3’snext-gen update won’t be out for a couple more days—December 14, to be precise—but the fullpatch notesare out now, so we can get a blow-by-blow breakdown of everything we have to look forward to.
Visual updates are the most obvious changes, of course: Ray tracing, 4K textures, and improved reflections and shadows all promise to make an already-gorgeous game look even better, for those who have the hardware to handle it. And if you really want to go all-in on the eye candy,CD Projekthas also added a new, PC-exclusive “Ultra+” graphical setting that “significantly increases the visual fidelity of the game,” although I imagine you’re going to need some pretty serious hardware to make it happen at an acceptable framerate (DLSS 3 will help, too).
There are a number of interesting quality of life changes in the update as well. A “Quick Sign Casting” option will let players choose and cast Geralt’s signs without having to access the radial menu—I don’t personally recall that being a great chore, but now you can just skip it altogether. There’s also a new map filter that hides some icons, including boats and all those “?” that build up over weeks and months on the Path. (They’re handy when you’re looking for things to do, but man, there are a lot of them.) Smaller changes including improved herb harvesting, scalable subtitle fonts, and increased fall damage height, and of course there’s a new photo mode, which should lead to some spectacular shots.
It all adds up to a very impressive update that “polishes an RPG that’s agedlike a fine Toussaint red,” as senior editor Wes Fenlon put it after getting some advance hands-on time with it last week. In fact, the addition of ray tracing—held up by CD Projekt as the front page feature—“may even be the last reason to care about this update.”
That’s not bad for a game that, regardless of its quality, is now seven years old. I only finished The Witcher 3 in December 2021 after putting nearly 400 hours into a single campaign, and so had zero intention of bothering with this update, but after reading these patch notes I have to admit that I’m feeling the itch. Maybe I’ll just dip my toes back in for a few minutes…
These are the official patch notes, but CD Projekt also said, somewhat oddly, that they’re also “just the highlights.” Have a look at the full list of changes below.
PC and Next-Gen Exclusives
PC-Specifc
Next-Gen Console-Specifc
Online Features
Additional Content
Quality of Life Changes
Gameplay
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill.Lotsof Henry Cavill.
As Netflix’s The Witcher Season 4 loses another star, once again I feel compelled to tap the ‘this no-budget YouTube fan film does the Witcher better’ sign
I can only assume this upcoming Witcher children’s book takes it easy on the folk horror, fantasy racism, and brutal violence I associate with the series
I desperately hope Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Disco Elysium inspire more RPG devs to reject the traditional drip, drip, drip of DLC and expansions
