Witcher 3 Remastered Patch Notes: What's Changing

Ready to dive back into Geralt's world with a fresh coat of paint? CD Projekt has just dropped the full patch notes for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, and it's a hefty list of improvements across PC and consoles.

The Remastered update launches September 29 on PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Battle.net), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. If you already own any version of the game—physical or digital—you can upgrade for free within the same platform ecosystem. That's right, no extra coin needed.

But before you jump in, be aware: the system requirements have changed due to all the enhancements. So if you're on PC, you might want to double-check your rig. CD Projekt also published global release times and download sizes, so you can plan your download accordingly.

Now, what's actually new? Visually, the game gets an improved shading model, updated textures and models from The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project, better lighting for grass and foliage, and updated visual effects for Signs and skills. There's native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading, updated tone mapping, GTAO as a new ambient occlusion option, an updated HDR calibration panel, and Ray-Traced HairWorks for more realistic hair. Motion blur, subsurface scattering, terrain rendering, image-based lighting, and bloom have all been reworked.

Gameplay-wise, the skill system has been overhauled: skills are now in a skill tree with three ranks each, and unlocking new skills requires prerequisite skills rather than spending points. Important: your skill points have been reset. The skill tree has been rebalanced, some skills renamed, and you can now reforge equipment to change its appearance without affecting stats—only master craftsmen Yoana and Hattori offer this. Dyes from Blood and Wine carry over to reforged items.

Combat and movement see big improvements: non-boss monsters have polished attack patterns and reactions, cantering and galloping now require a button press instead of holding, and there's a new horse control sensitivity slider. Geralt's jumping, climbing, vaulting, and finisher animations are refined, and target-lock switching is smoother. Roach's animations for mounting and dismounting are also polished.

UI/UX changes include a timelapse for meditation, a reorganized skill screen, easier quest tracking on the map, options to hide herbs/boats/corpses on the minimap, grouped loot windows, a loot feed, and item tooltips in the loot window. The "HUD Configuration" section is now called "Interface," and the CD PROJEKT RED account menus have been updated. Photo Mode also gets a UI update and expanded features.

With all these changes, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered looks like a substantial upgrade for both veterans and newcomers. Will you be picking it up on day one? Let us know in the comments!