Skip to main content

The Witcher 3’s long-delayed upgrade is finally coming

The current-gen edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which will upgrade the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, will now launch in the fourth quarter of 2022 according to a tweet from developer CD Projekt Red.

This comes on the seventh anniversary of the original game’s release in May 2015. It’s still unclear when the current-gen version will launch, but we can expect it by the end of the year — hopefully in time for the holidays.

Recommended Videos

Let's make this 7th anniversary even better, shall we?

We're delighted to share that the Next Gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is planned to release in Q4 2022.

See you on the Path, witchers! pic.twitter.com/2wQbxMP4zh

— The Witcher (@witchergame) May 19, 2022

Please enable Javascript to view this content

This isn’t the first time CD Projekt Red has announced a release window for the current-gen edition of the game. Initially, The Witcher 3 was supposed to come to PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021 but was delayed to the second quarter of 2022. This was due to “recommendations supplied by teams supervising the development” of the project.

Then, earlier this year, the developer delayed the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S version yet again, “until further notice,” bringing the project in-house from developer Saber Interactive. This is the team behind the Nintendo Switch version of the acclaimed RPG. Evidently, development wasn’t going as expected, but it seems CD Projekt feels confident enough to commit to a release window later this year.

The current-gen version of the game will support ray tracing and will feature faster load times, along with other visual improvements. Anyone who already owns the previous-gen edition will gain access to the new version at no additional cost.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most acclaimed games of all time. It also performed well commercially, reaching over 40 million copies sold since its launch in 2015. The new version of the game will bolster its sales even further, whenever it does come to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 coming to Switch?
Minthara in Baldur's Gate 3.

Few games have rocked the industry in the way that Baldur's Gate 3 did at launch, and it has been a critical and commercial success on all platforms for which it has been released. As such, it's reasonable to wonder if Larian Studios has considered bringing the hit role-playing title to the Nintendo Switch. Let's take a look and see if any plans to that effect are in motion.
Is Baldur's Gate coming to Nintendo Switch?
Baldur's Gate 3 is not available on Nintendo Switch, and there is no indication that Larian Studios has any intentions of bringing it over at this time, if ever. It has already canceled the planned DLC for the game, citing a desire to move on to new projects beyond the Baldur's Gate franchise, likely leaving the series for another developer to pick up down the line.

Speaking to IGN, the game's director, Swen Vincke, said: "We’re going to shift around and we’re going to start doing these other things that we talked about, that we planned on doing before we started on BG3. Those were always the plans for afterward, we have two games that we want to make, and we have lots of concepts. So let’s just have closure on BG3. It’s been great. We’ve done our job. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. So let’s pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy."

Read more
3 new PS Plus games you need to play this weekend (August 23-25)
Yennefer in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

This week, we received our monthly batch of new additions to the PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra game catalog. It's a great group of games that includes a fantastic RPG, underrated gems, Sword Art Online games, and some PS2 TimeSplitters games getting rereleased for the first time. If you're looking for something to play this weekend, that means there are plenty of new games to choose from, but I specifically want to highlight three worthwhile games that just came to the service. They can all maintain your attention for more than just a weekend too.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt Red's crowning achievement needs little introduction. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the best RPGs ever made, thanks to its fantastic world-building, writing, and characters. Geralt of Rivia is now one of gaming's most iconic protagonists, and this RPG also put book characters Ciri and Yennefer in a central role for the first time. It features some of the best sidequests in an RPG too, as most of them are given the same care as the main questline. We're over nine years out from its original release, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still holds up. If you somehow haven't played it yet, you need to this weekend. The PS4 and PS5 versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are now part of the PS Plus Extra Game Catalog. It's also available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
Wild Hearts

Read more
One of the PS5’s best exclusives is coming to Xbox, and it’s still great
Key art for Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

There has been a lot of talk this year about Xbox console exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush, As Dusk Falls, and Sea of Thieves going multiplatform and being readily available on the PlayStation 5 as a result. For once, we're seeing that process work the other way around.

Next week, Ember Labs will release Kena: Bridge of Spirits on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. This game has a reputation as being one of the best-looking PS5 exclusives. Having gone hands-on with its Xbox Series X port, I can say that Kena: Bridge of Spirits is just as good as it's ever been on the new platform. If you never had a chance to try Kena: Bridge of Spirits because you don't own a PS5, this Xbox port gives you the perfect excuse to check out this memorable adventure.

Read more