Following player complaints about washed-out and overly bright visuals since its launch earlier this week, CD Projekt Red has rolled out a patch for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and the PC Xbox Play Anywhere version, introducing various lighting adjustments.
Since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered’s launch earlier this week, the debate around its lighting changes — specifically whether the updated world looks overly brightened and washed out — has dominated discussions among players. The newly released patch aims to correct several of those visual complaints, targeting dark interior spaces and ironing out platform discrepancies.
https://x.com/thewitcher/status/2105587052112720140
CD Projekt Red Patch Notes and Platform Rollout
The studio announced the update on social media, detailing specific fixes included in the download now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and the PC Xbox Play Anywhere version. According to the announcement, the patch addresses an issue where DLSS was unavailable in the Xbox Play Anywhere version on PC, while also making various lighting adjustments to fix interiors that appeared too dark.
Beyond fixing dark rooms, the update implements various other adjustments designed to bring parity with the standard PC version.
RTX 50 Series GPUs Enable Path-Traced Hair Rendering
While players sort out brightness settings, PC players utilizing GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs are receiving a major technical upgrade under the hood. NVIDIA detailed how the remaster incorporates Linear-Swept Spheres (LSS) path-traced hair rendering for Geralt alongside all HairWorks-enhanced NPCs and enemies, using the fourth-generation Ray Tracing Cores built into the new hardware.
This development builds on a decade-old technological lineage. Back in the 2010s, developers relied on static polygon strips and transparent textures for hair and fur before NVIDIA HairWorks added up to 115,000 DirectX 11 tessellated hair strands that reacted dynamically to external forces. In the original release, CD Projekt Red applied HairWorks to Geralt, Roach, horses, and over three dozen monster types across the open world.
CD Projekt Red Prepares Hotfix for PC Save-Game Issue
Even with the latest fixes deployed, the developer is actively monitoring additional technical hurdles reported by the community. CD Projekt Red confirmed it is preparing a separate hotfix for a PC save-game issue while continuing investigating the issues you’re reporting via our Technical Support portal
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The studio also thanked players for their patience and for reporting bugs during launch week. Despite the visual debates and technical hiccups, the remaster delivers a comprehensive refresh that remains free to anyone who already owns any version of the game, setting the technological stage for a newly announced third expansion titled Songs of the Past, scheduled for release next year.