The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered launched on September 29 with visual, gameplay, and performance improvements. Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine also became available to existing owners at no extra cost, while the October 8 update addressed several serious save, combat, and graphics issues.

• Remastered edition: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered added visual upgrades to Bloom, tone mapping, character lighting, Ray Tracing, Path Tracing, vegetation, and Velen’s lighting. It also served as a free upgrade for existing Steam owners.
• Expansion access: Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine became available to all owners of the base game for free, bringing both original expansions into the Remastered release.
• Gameplay changes: Exploding Shield gained damage reflection, Ladder Interaction Animations improved, and delayed dodging, unintended bomb throws, incorrect Synergy values, and excessive stamina drain while sprinting and dodging were corrected.
• PC and save reliability: HairWorks performance problems were reverted, and a save-file data issue received both a fix and recovery measures. Dynamic Resolution Scaling artifacts and incorrect settings were corrected, while GPU selection, unsupported DLSS and XeSS presets, GTAO Quality, and automatic blade-oil application also received fixes.
• World and progression fixes: Uncontrollable boat movement and collisions with dead enemies after the Aard finisher were corrected. My Rewards and Twitch/Bilibili Drops appeared correctly in the Vizima chest, while Vesemir’s repeated Quen voice line and several stuck or outdated skill and ability-point displays were fixed.

The Witcher 3 REDkit launched on May 21, 2024, giving the community an official editor for creating and modifying content. Steam Workshop support made it easier to discover and share those creations, and later updates improved the tools available to modders.

• Official editor: REDkit opened up tools for creators to change game content and build their own additions.
• Steam Workshop: Workshop support allowed players to find and manage community mods, including creations with entirely new content.
• Customization: Community creators could work with character appearances, clothing, hairstyles and environments.
• Script compiler: A June update added annotation support to help modders modify existing functions without merging script files.
• Community contest: A REDkit modding contest invited players to create and submit themed character looks.

The Witcher 3 continued to receive gameplay and technical fixes, while CD PROJEKT RED prepared official tools for community creators. A REDkit playtest was announced in April 2024, ahead of the editor's public release in the following window.

• REDkit playtest: The announced test gave selected players a chance to try the mod editor for creating and editing game content.
• Modding support: The editor and Steam Workshop integration were prepared to make community creations easier to build and share.
• Combat convenience: Players gained the ability to switch potions and apply oils from the radial menu.
• Visual fixes: Updates addressed issues involving fog and reflections on water.
• PC performance: A fix addressed frame counting with DLSS Frame Generation enabled.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt saw a significant next-gen update launch on December 14, 2022, bringing a wealth of enhancements and new content, including a free DLC inspired by Netflix's series that added new weapons and armor for Geralt. This update also introduced a cross-progression feature, allowing players to continue their adventures across different platforms.

• Next-Gen Update Features: Released on December 14, 2022, this update included enhanced visuals with ray tracing, performance improvements, and various graphical settings adjustments.

  • Improved visuals with ray tracing and better textures.
  • Added 'ULTRA+' graphical settings on PC.
  • Support for FSR 2.1 and DLSS 3.

• New Content: The update included a new quest titled 'In The Eternal Fire's Shadow', alternative character appearances, and support for community mods.

  • New side quest inspired by Netflix's The Witcher series.
  • Alternative looks for Dandelion and Nilfgaardian soldiers.
  • Community-made mod integration for enhanced gameplay.

• Gameplay Changes: Players enjoyed new mechanics and options, such as the photo mode for capturing in-game moments and an alternative camera option for dynamic gameplay.

  • Cross-progression feature allowed saves to be carried over between platforms.
  • Game can now be paused during cutscenes.

• Balance Adjustments: Modifications included increased health and damage for the Axii Puppet and adjustments to fall damage mechanics, allowing players to survive higher falls.

• Quality of Life Improvements: Several new features enhanced the user experience, such as quick sign casting and an option to auto-apply oils in combat, streamlining gameplay and reducing clutter on the map.

Tracked sources for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt were limited between 2021-05-18 and 2022-05-18, with only 1 verified change captured in this window. The recorded activity centers on Steam Deck Compatibility Verified and sits between Next Generation Edition Announcement on 2020-09-04 (dlc_release) and Next-Gen Update Release Date Announced on 2022-11-14 (new_content), making this a light but still readable period in the game's history.

• Verified activity: 2022-03-11 - Steam Deck Compatibility Verified: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been verified for Steam Deck compatibility, ensuring optimal performance on the device..
• What stands out: The period is defined more by a small number of isolated updates than by a large roadmap beat or expansion-sized release.
• Before this window: The closest earlier tracked activity was Next Generation Edition Announcement on 2020-09-04 (dlc_release).
• After this window: The next tracked activity was Next-Gen Update Release Date Announced on 2022-11-14 (new_content).

CD Projekt Red announced a next-generation edition of The Witcher 3 in September 2020. The Switch version also received a released maintenance update in October, covering localization and cloud-save transfers.

• Next-generation plans: The studio outlined ray tracing and faster loading across the game, its expansions, and additional content.
• Upgrade path: The new edition was announced for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, with a free update for existing PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners.
• Switch cloud saves: Update 3.7 addressed a transfer issue that could block progress when moving multiple saves to or from Steam or GOG.
• Switch localization: The October patch updated Simplified Chinese fonts and text, with additional stability fixes.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received official Simplified Chinese support on November 14, 2018. The Steam announcements for this period also recorded a sale for the Game of the Year Edition and a community award for the game's environments.

• Localization: CD Projekt Red made the Simplified Chinese patch available free to existing owners of The Witcher 3.
• Steam sale: The Game of the Year Edition was discounted by 60 percent on November 21 as part of a broader franchise sale.
• Community award: The Witcher 3 won the Best Environment category in the 2018 Steam Awards. The studio shared a message from its environment art director in February 2019.

Blood and Wine, the highly anticipated expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, launched on May 31, 2016, delivering over 30 hours of new content. This expansion introduced a vibrant new region, Toussaint, along with fresh quests, characters, and gameplay enhancements. Additionally, several gameplay adjustments and bug fixes improved the overall experience.

• New Region: Blood and Wine introduced the expansive region of Toussaint, featuring new quests, characters, and a unique narrative arc.
• Gameplay Adjustments: The August 30, 2016 patch adjusted maximum levels for New Game+ mode, ensuring a more balanced experience with item and quest levels now capped at 100 and NPCs at 105.
  • Killing Blow Adrenaline Generation Fix: Corrected adrenaline generation from killing blows.
  • Loot Randomization System Tweaks: Implemented improvements to the loot randomization system.
• Balance Changes: The game saw difficulty adjustments for Rabid Rock Trolls, making them slightly less challenging on the 'Just the Story' difficulty level.
• Visual Updates: Vimme Vivaldi received a new look, updating his appearance for players to enjoy.

Hearts of Stone launched on October 13, 2015, marking the first expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This expansion introduced over 10 hours of new adventures, characters, and powerful monsters, significantly enhancing the game's content. Additionally, the update featured the Runewords System, a new gameplay mechanic that allowed for diverse strategies and tactics.

• New Content:

  • Hearts of Stone added new adventures and characters.
  • The Sunstone quest introduced new romance segments with Triss and Yen.
  • A lamp item became available in Keira's hut after completing The Isle of Mists.

• Gameplay Enhancements:

  • The Wolven Hour potion was introduced, reducing level requirements on gear for one hour.
  • Preparatory features for New Game + were included to set the stage for future updates.
  • Various quest completion issues were addressed, improving overall gameplay stability.

• Balance Changes:

  • Prices of goods in Skellige were dropped by 10% after defeating a giant.
  • Balance issues with poisonous gas in the Out of Time and Space quest were fixed.

• Quality of Life Improvements:

  • A pinning feature for formulae and diagrams in shop view was added, enhancing item management.
  • Quest tracking across game regions was improved, helping players navigate their objectives more easily.