CD Projekt Red has officially released the patch notes for ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered’. The highly anticipated game launches globally today, September 29, 2026, on all supported platforms. The massive 5.0 update requires at least 45 GB of storage space on most systems. Meanwhile, the new Nintendo Switch 2 port needs at least 50 GB of available space.
Fortunately, players do not need to restart their journey. All save files from previous versions will carry over seamlessly to the remaster. Furthermore, this includes cross-progression saves stored on GOG’s cloud servers. This save data benefit also applies to users upgrading from the original Switch version to the new Switch 2 port.
The Witcher 3 Remastered Brings Next-Gen Visual Upgrades
The 5.0 update drastically improves how the game looks. The developers added an improved shading model, Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion (GTAO), and Image-Based Lighting for better reflections. Additionally, they updated multiple textures and models using assets from ‘The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project’. The game now features native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading to boost both performance and visuals.
Players will notice improved lighting on grass, updated Subsurface Scattering for natural skin rendering, and Ray-Traced HairWorks. The update also enhances Bloom, Motion Blur, and tone mapping. Visual effects for Geralt’s Signs and skills received major upgrades as well.
PC players with high-end rigs get even more features. The remaster supports Path Tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction, and Intel XeSS 2.0. Moreover, AMD users with RX 7000 Series or newer GPUs can utilize FSR 4 with Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2.
Rebuilt Skill Trees & Gameplay Changes
On the gameplay front, developers completely reworked the skill system. Skills now sit in a reorganized skill tree featuring three ranks per skill. Consequently, unlocking new abilities requires specific prerequisite traits instead of spending a fixed amount of points. Because of this massive change, the game resets and refunds all previously spent skill points.
Combat feels significantly smoother. The team polished the attack patterns, movement, and counterattacks of all non-boss monsters. Furthermore, you can now quickly disengage from combat by holding the dodge button and pressing sprint. Geralt boasts new finisher animations, natural jumping mechanics, and faster climbing animations for more responsive movement.
Roach also received crucial updates. Cantering and galloping now require a simple button press instead of a continuous hold. You can also collect loot without dismounting your horse. However, if you miss Roach’s notoriously glitchy mannerisms, an options toggle lets you bring them back.
UI Refinements & Expanded Photo Mode
The user interface offers numerous quality-of-life improvements. Meditation now shows an immersive real-time timelapse rather than a static menu screen. You can easily group nearby loot into a single window or view a new loot feed on the left side of the screen. Players can also hide herbs, boats, and corpses on the minimap for a cleaner view. Moreover, you can reforge equipment at master craftsmen Yoana and Hattori. This process changes the item’s appearance without altering stats, and applied dyes from ‘Blood and Wine’ will carry over.
The Photo Mode introduces a massive expansion. You can now place multiple characters in your shots, change the weather, adjust lights, and pick specific poses or expressions. The mode also adds first-person camera options and adjustable aspect ratios.
Accessibility takes a front seat in this update. A new “Bard’s Ballad” preset reduces cognitive load for players on the “Just the Story” difficulty. This preset enables infinite breath, unlimited item durability, faster boats, and ignores item weight. The game also adds Ukrainian text localization.
Console Specifics & Modding Support
Modders receive major upgrades today. The game now features ‘Cross Platform Mod Support’ powered by mod.io. You can easily browse and install player-created mods directly from the main menu.
For console gamers, the update adds support for PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Play Anywhere. PlayStation 5 players also benefit from multithreaded rendering for improved performance.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version packs exclusive features. It includes four distinct playstyles, Gyroscope aiming, Joy-Con 2 HD Rumble, VRR, and HDR support. Players on Steam Deck can still play the game, but they must manually adjust graphical settings to maintain a stable frame rate.
Finally, the update fixes a progression-blocking fast travel bug in the “Wine is Sacred” quest. It also allows players to set stick sensitivity to 0.69 and fixes an issue with missing Forgotten Wolf School Gear Diagrams.
The Witcher 3 Remastered Official PC System Requirements
Because of these extensive changes, the system requirements have evolved. Here is the official hardware table for PC users:
| In-Game Graphics Preset | Minimum (Low) | Recommended (High) | Ultra | RT Minimum | RT Recommended | Path Tracing |
| Resolution | 1080p | 1080p | 1440p | 1080p (DLSS/FSR/XeSS) | 1440p (DLSS/FSR) | 2160p (DLSS) |
| Expected FPS | 30 | 60 | 60 | 30 | 60 | 60 with Frame Generation |
| CPU Intel | Core i5-8400 | Core i7 8700K | Core i7 13700K | Core i7 11700K | Core i7 13700K | Core i9 13900K |
| CPU AMD |
Ryzen 5 2600 | Ryzen 5 3600X | Ryzen 7 7700X | Ryzen 7 5800X | Ryzen 7 7700X | Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| GPU NVIDIA |
GeForce GTX 1660* | GeForce RTX 2060 Super | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | GeForce RTX 2060 Super | GeForce RTX 4080 | GeForce RTX 5080 |
| GPU AMD |
Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB | Radeon RX 6600 XT | Radeon RX 6800 XT | Radeon RX 6600 XT | Radeon RX 9070 XT | Not Applicable |
| GPU Intel | Arc A580 | Arc B580 | Arc B580 (XeSS) | Arc B580 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| VRAM |
6 GB | 8 GB | 12 GB | 8 GB | 12 GB | 16 GB |
| RAM |
12 GB | 16 GB | 24 GB | 16 GB | 24 GB | 24 GB |
| Storage** | 60 GB SSD | 60 GB SSD | 60 GB SSD | 60 GB SSD | 60 GB SSD | 60 GB SSD |
| OS |
64-bit Windows 11 | 64-bit Windows 11 | 64-bit Windows 11 | 64-bit Windows 11 | 64-bit Windows 11 | 64-bit Windows 11 |
Upscaling (DLSS/FSR/XeSS) is turned off, unless otherwise indicated.
*The GeForce GTX 1660 can achieve 60 FPS or higher.
**On the Epic Games Store, 95 GB of available storage is required.
