The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has finally received a next-gen update, but PC performance seems to be inundated with issues. Even before the free patch The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had aged rather well, now playable at 60 frames per second on consoles that do not seem to be suffering problems.

A next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been in development for quite a long time, and recent reports offer insight into why that may be the case. The free update was set to release for every version of the game, introduce Performance/Ray Tracing modes to consoles, bring new content inspired by the Netflix series, and even new camera options that mimic the point-of-view utilized by more modern third-person titles, such as God of War. CD Projekt Red collaborated with mod creators to officially integrate their work into the experience and provided a spreadsheet of existing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt mods that detailed whether they would be compatible.

However, it seems like the ambitious additions may have required a little more time in the oven for PC, with allegations that crashing, intense frame drops, and stuttering are frequent occurrences. The issues are at the very least substantial enough to warrant acknowledgment from the developers themselves, with a tweet posted by the official The Witcher account that stated "we are aware of the issues PC players have been reporting since last night's release." It assured those affected that investigations were underway and that "an update on particular issues," would be provided as soon as possible. Despite this, reviews have placed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as the highest-rated open-world role-playing game once again.

We are aware of the issues PC players have been reporting since last night's release of the update. We are actively investigating all of the reports and will be providing an update on particular issues as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience!

— The Witcher (@witchergame) December 14, 2022

Replies to the tweet echoed many of the experiences that have been shared thus, including users listing PC specifications in an attempt to emphasize their dissatisfaction. The update seems to be performing better on Xbox Series X and PS5, confirmed by ostensibly positive reviews that note the consoles only really struggle when pushing for quality.

CD Projekt Red has had a difficult time with the performance of its releases, with the worst being Cyberpunk 2077's tragic launch. A title that rivaled the hype of any game that had ever come before it proceeded to crash and burn largely due to it being essentially unplayable for many on last-gen hardware. The fallout was so intense that Cyberpunk 2077 was removed from the PlayStation Store for a significant time, which likely encouraged CD Projekt Red to prioritize a high-quality bar for consoles when it came to The Witcher 3's next-gen update.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now for PC, PS4, PS5 Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.



Posted: Dec 17, 2022 10:15 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/witcher-3-wild-hunt-next-gen-update-pc-issues/