'The Witcher 3's' Next-Gen Update Brings More Than Just Prettier Graphics

The big free update for "The Witcher 3" is now available for all players who own the game on Steam, the PS5 as well as Xbox Series X and S consoles, and it's got more to offer than just overhauled graphics.

Although the next-generation update is far from a rework or a total overhaul of core systems, it offers plenty of new things that may entice new and old players alike into trying the game out in 2022.

"The Witcher 3" did age very well in terms of gameplay and visuals. For a game made in 2015, it's still able to keep up with many of the newer releases. The update dials the graphics up to 11 and adds some fun new stuff to discover in the form of official add-ons and a bunch of community projects that have been assimilated into the main game.

In the graphics department, players can expect the following to come pre-installed with their game:

• "The Witcher 3" HD Reworked Project by HalkHogan
• World Map Fixes by Terg500
• Immersive Real-Time Cutscenes by teiji25
• HD Monsters Reworked by Denroth
• Nitpicker's Patch by chuckcash

These mods were designed to bump "The Witcher 3's" graphical fidelity up without tinkering with the engine. Now that the game is capable of supporting tech like ray-tracing and AMD'S FSR 2.1, players can expect even more stunning visuals when they return to Northern Realms.

As for content, there's a new quest that'll reward players with the armor set worn by Henry Cavill as Geralt in Netflix's live-action adaptation.

The update also comes with an optional setting that lets players pick between the standard Nilfgaardian Armor set and the one seen on the show as well as a toggle that alters Dandelion's appearance to match that of Jaskier.

Lastly, the next-gen patch brings a ton of minor bug fixes, photo mode and quality-of-life improvements.

Some of its most notable additions include a new "God of War"-style combat camera option that thrusts players closer to the fight. CD Projekt Red also implemented a curated version of Flash's Full Combat Rebalance mod, which tweaks almost every aspect of combat to be more realistic and tactically demanding.