The Witcher 3 Remastered Patch Notes: New Skill Tree, Upgraded Visuals, and More

Following the next-gen update in 2022, The Witcher 3 Remastered edition is out later today. This time, CDPR didn’t only focus on visual upgrades but also on overhauling gameplay, QOL changes, and more. So, if you are wondering what’s new in the latest Witcher 3 update, check out the complete patch notes for The Witcher 3 Remastered edition right here.

The Witcher 3 Remastered Release Date and Time

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Remastered launches on September 29, 2026, at 3 AM PT (6 AM ET). The new remastered edition will be available on all platforms, including PC (via Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and Battle.net), PlayStation 5|5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2

Players who already own any version of The Witcher 3 can upgrade to the Remastered version for free. You can check out the full Witcher 3 Remastered patch notes below.

Everything New in The Witcher 3 Remastered: Full Patch Notes

Here is a list of all the major changes that are coming with The Witcher 3 Remastered edition, according to the latest patch notes:

Visuals and Rendering

The visuals of The Witcher 3 are completely upgraded for the Remastered edition with HD textures, improved lighting, ray-traced shadows, and more. So, check out the updated The Witcher 3 system requirements, and here is a full list of all the visual upgrades:

• Improved shading model implemented.
• Multiple textures and models have been updated based on assets from The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project.
• Improved lighting and shading for grass and foliage.
• The visual effects of Signs, including their upgraded versions, have been updated.
• New visual effects for skills have been added.
• The game now supports native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading for better performance and visuals.
• Tone mapping has been updated for improved colors, lighting, contrast, and detail.
• Introduced GTAO (Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion) as a new Screen Space Ambient Occlusion option.
• Ray-Traced Local Shadows have been added.
• Screen Space Reflections have been updated.
• Screen Space Shadows have been updated.
• The HDR calibration panel has been updated with new options and other improvements.
• Improved Motion Blur with a higher-quality, more cinematic look.
• Subsurface Scattering has been updated for more natural skin rendering.
• Improved terrain and material rendering for more natural lighting, shadows, reflections, and highlights.
• Implemented new Image-Based Lighting (IBL) for improved ambient lighting and reflections across different environments.
• Bloom has been reworked for improved lighting effects across different environments.

Gameplay

Unlike the next-gen 2022 update, The Witcher 3: Remastered edition brings huge improvements to gameplay, including a revamped skill tree, refined combat behavior, new animations, etc. So, if you plan to play the Remastered version before The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past DLC comes out, here are all the gameplay changes:

• Improved Skill System: A skill tree has been added, with each skill having three ranks.
• Unlocking new skills now requires having the necessary prerequisite skills rather than spending a set number of skill points.
• As a result, all skill points have been reset.
• The skill tree has been rebalanced by adjusting skill bonus values, effects, and synergies.
• Some skills have been renamed to better reflect their effects.
• Reforge your equipment to change its appearance without affecting its stats. Only master craftsmen (Yoana and Hattori) offer this service.
• You can unlock appearances by adding new equipment and crafting diagrams to your inventory. Dyes from Blood and Wine applied to equipment will carry over to the reforged item.
• Refined the combat behavior of many non-boss monsters, including their attack patterns, counterattacks, movement, reactions, flight, and the application of effects.
• Added a new “Horse control input sensitivity” slider in Control Settings.
• Roach’s and Geralt’s movement, player control, and animations have been improved.
• Geralt’s jumping animation has been polished so that it feels more natural and polished. But this doesn’t affect jump distance and height.
• New finisher animations for Geralt have been added.
• New idle animations for Geralt have been added.
• Improved Geralt’s ledge climbing, ladder climbing, and vaulting animations, as well as his speed for more responsive, fluid movement.
• Improved Geralt’s gap-closing animations in combat for smoother gameplay.
• A new exploration camera with increased FOV has been added.
• A new dynamic combat camera to increase visibility when fighting enemies has been added.
• Improved target-lock switching when moving the camera in combat.
• Updated collision avoidance when riding Roach.
• Polished animations for mounting and dismounting Roach, as well as cantering and galloping.

UI/UX

The UI/UX elements of the game have also been improved to reflect the gameplay changes. The changes include a new meditation timelapse sequence, a redesigned skill screen, an updated map, and more:

• Meditation features a timelapse instead of a UI screen for a more immersive feel.
• The skill screen has been reorganized into a more intuitive skill tree layout.
• The map screen has been updated to make switching between tracked quests easier. Untracked quests now have a distinct marker and can be tracked by selecting it.
• The number of maximum markers on the map has been increased.
• Added new map markers.
• Hide herbs, boats, and corpses on the minimap in Settings -> Video -> Interface for a cleaner, less distracting view.
• Quest notifications have been improved by combining quest updates into a single HUD notification.
• Nearby loot can now be grouped into a single window, so you no longer need to browse through multiple loot windows. You can enable this feature in Settings -> Gameplay.
• Added a loot feed that displays recently collected items on the left side of the screen. You can disable it in Settings → Gameplay.
• Added item tooltips to the loot window, allowing you to preview an item’s details before picking it up.
• The “HUD Configuration” section in Settings was renamed to “Interface”.
• Updated the CD PROJEKT RED Account connection, My Rewards, and telemetry consent menus.

Photo Mode

The Photo Mode is also getting its due upgrades in The Witcher 3 Remastered updates. Similar to Ghost of Yotei’s photo mode, players can now change weather and time, poses, and expressions, and more:

• The Photo Mode UI has been updated and has vastly expanded its features and options.
• Choose from multiple different characters to place in your shot.
• Added a selection of poses and expressions for Geralt and placeable characters.
• Added a confirmation prompt before exiting Photo Mode to help prevent accidental exits.
• Feel free to lock the camera position in Photo Mode to make sure you capture the perfect shot.
• Added the option to apply different environment presets to your scene.
• Added the option to save camera presets, allowing you to save and reuse camera positions and angles.
• You can now change the screenshot’s aspect ratio.
• Added the option to toggle a first-person camera mode so you can see the world through Geralt’s eyes.
• Enable or disable camera collisions with objects and walls.
• Set the perfect scene by changing the weather and time of day.
• Adjust the intensity of weather effects like rain or storms.
• Added an option to toggle Rule of Thirds lines in various aspect ratios, with optional cinematic black bars.
• Camera coordinates will now be visible in the UI.
• Added an option to hide surrounding NPCs.
• Added placeable props, giving you even more ways to create the perfect scene. Just don’t ask where they all came from.
• The cursor is now visible in Photo Mode on PC when using a mouse.

Accessibility

If you ever felt like The Witcher 3 is difficult, similar to Soulslike games, luckily CDPR has introduced plenty of accessibility options to make the gameplay much easier:

• A new Accessibility section has been added to the Settings menu. Existing accessibility-related options are there.
• A Bard’s Ballad preset is now available. You can enable it when starting a new game on the ‘Just the Story’ difficulty or during the game in the Accessibility section.
• It is designed to reduce cognitive load for players who experience mental fatigue or have difficulty concentrating.
• It streamlines gameplay by simplifying certain mechanics and disabling select features for a smoother, more focused adventure.
• Enable the preset in the Accessibility tab and customize it by enabling or disabling options.
• Vitality Regeneration Boost – Gives the possibility to adjust its activation threshold (“Activates below (%) Vitality”) and the rate at which Vitality increases (“Regeneration Intensity”).
• Infinite Breath – Geralt can’t run out of oxygen while swimming and diving.
• Unlimited Item Durability – Your gear will never wear down, so there’s no need to visit craftsmen for repairs.
• Unlimited Boat Durability – Boats are indestructible, making jagged rocks and sirens no longer a concern.
• Ignore Item Weight – Travel the Path carrying as much as you want.
• Faster Boats – Sail faster across the seas. The seas around Skellige just got a little bit smaller.
• Toggle Witcher Sense – Toggle on and off without having to hold the button.

Quality of Life

The new Remastered edition also includes several QOL improvements such as streamlined tutorials, collecting loot while riding Roach, and quickly disengaging from combat.

• Tutorials are kept concise and focused on teaching core game mechanics.
• An option has been added to quickly disengage from combat. Hold the dodge button (Alt/O/B) to unlock from your target, then press the sprint button (L Shift/X/A) to run away.
• Now it is possible to collect loot without dismounting Roach.

Modding

Ahead of The Witcher 4’s release, CDPR has enabled cross-platform mod support for The Witcher 3. The game now features an in-game modding tool which you can access by creating a CD Projekt RED account.

• Cross-platform mod support has been added.
• An in-game tool powered by mod.io that allows you to easily browse and install player-created mods to customize your game. You can find it in the game’s main menu in Mods.
• Log in with your CD PROJEKT RED Account, connect it to mod.io, and start browsing. You can find more information about the Mod Manager here.
• Various engine, UI, and other improvements for REDkit, making it easier for modders to create, manage, and customize their content.

Fixes

The Witcher 3 Remastered also addresses recurring bugs and glitches, HDR problems, and more:

• An issue where it wasn’t possible to change Right Stick Sensitivity if the settings were accessed directly from the main menu has been fixed.
• You can now set Stick Sensitivity to the value of 0.69.
• An issue where HDR settings would sometimes not appear on consoles has been fixed.
• An issue in Eternal Fire’s Shadow where the Forgotten Wolf School Gear Diagrams weren’t displayed in the UI after being received as a reward has been fixed.
• An issue in Wine is Sacred where fast traveling out of Toussaint during the “Search the wine cellar with Anna Henrietta” objective could block quest progression has been fixed. However, this fix is not retroactive, so players who encountered this issue will need to load a save from before it occurred.

Other

• Ukrainian text localization has been added
• The game now supports Xbox Play Anywhere.

PC

Happy news for PC players: The Witcher 3 now supports all the latest upscaling tech, including NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2.0. The game also supports Path Tracing, ray-traced hair works, etc.:

• Supports Path Tracing.
• Added support for NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, together with Ray Reconstruction.
• Added support for AMD FSR 4, including Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2. FSR 4 is supported on AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series and newer graphics cards. On unsupported GPUs, the game will use FSR 2 instead.
• Added support for Intel XeSS 2.0, together with Frame Generation and Low Latency.
• Added Ray-Traced HairWorks for improved lighting and shading on hair.
• DualSense controller haptic feedback is supported.

PlayStation

PS5 and PS5 Pro owners can rejoice as the game now includes support for PSSR, VRR, RT, and more:

• Multithreaded rendering has been implemented on PlayStation 5 for improved performance.
• Enhanced for PlayStation 5 Pro.
• Introduced support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) to deliver higher visual fidelity without compromising on performance.
• Supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and uncapped frame rates.
• Two new updated Graphics Modes:
  • Ray Tracing Mode now brings enhanced lighting while targeting 60 FPS.
  • Performance Mode now offers a higher resolution while targeting 60 FPS and up to 90 FPS on VRR-capable displays.

Nintendo Switch

Lastly, CDPR is also enabling extensive support for Nintendo Switch 2 consoles. The game now supports four playstyles: Handheld, Pro Controller, Dual Grip (using Motion Controls), and Mouse Sensor. Motion Control has been enabled, so you can aim in gyroscope mode. Here are all the new improvements for The Witcher 3 Remastered edition on Switch 2:

• Added support for Nintendo Switch 2, with new Switch 2-specific features.
• Four playstyles: Handheld, Pro Controller, Dual Grip (using Motion Controls), and Mouse Sensor.
• Motion Control Patterns in two modes (Always Enabled or Horse Only) for gameplay actions such as using primary and secondary consumables, calling your horse, casting signs, using your crossbow, throwing bombs, and making your horse gallop or stop.
• Mouse Sensor in two modes: Always Enabled or Dynamic, supporting 3 different control schemes: Comfort, Dynamic, and Default.
• You can now aim with Gyroscope Mode in Handheld, Pro Controller, and Dual Grip playstyles with two modes: Always Enabled and Ranged Weapons.
• Supports Touch Screen input in menus, dialogue, world map, Gwent, and Photo Mode.
• Joy-Con 2 HD Rumble, delivering more varied and immersive vibration feedback.
• Support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) in handheld mode and HDR (High Dynamic Range).
• Dedicated Motion Controls tutorial, which can be replayed at any time from the Main Menu and Pause Menu.

And that’s everything you need to know about the major upgrades in The Witcher 3: Remastered Edition as per the latest patch notes. Let us know your thoughts about the new changes in the comments below.