CD Projekt Red are no strangers to pro-consumer moves, and maybe you could consider it an obvious choice, but the decision taken to give players a free upgrade to the next-generation versions of one of the best games of the last generation is a pretty good one. The next-gen versions will sport, according to CD Projekt Red, a “range of visual and technical improvements”, which include faster loading times and ray-tracing graphics. The upgrades will apply to the original base game, as well as to both of its massive expansions.
The Witcher 3 is coming to the next generation!
A visually and technically enhanced version of the game will be available for purchase for PC and next-gen consoles & as a free update for owners of the game on PC, @Xbox One and @PlayStation 4.
More: https://t.co/JclubxpJim pic.twitter.com/gWCJzST3vr
— The Witcher (@witchergame) September 4, 2020
This follows a quiet trend of companies giving players the option to upgrade for free, such as Bethesda doing the same with Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online. It’s unclear as of yet whether The Witcher 3‘s upgrade policy follows Bethesda’s – as in the upgrade only applies to people transitioning to the next iteration of the same platform family (eg PS4 to PS5 or XB1 to Series X) – or EA’s, where there is a timed catch to the upgrade process, but regardless, it’s a consumer-friendly move that has quietly become more and more expected from companies going forward.
The Witcher 3 will be made available to buy as a standalone purchase for people who haven’t already experienced the game, but not much is available on when exactly we’ll get to upgrade – although CD Projekt RED’s Lead PR Manager Radek Grabowski tweeted that the PS5 and Series X versions will be coming sometime in 2021, which will be after the studio’s main focus of Cyberpunk 2077 which comes out later this year.
2021 ⚔️ More info: https://t.co/vakxP8unKA pic.twitter.com/fYGHWrAznd
— Radek (@gamebowski) September 4, 2020
Speaking of that upcoming game, CD Projekt Red is still gearing up to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, which was not long ago delayed until November 19. Cyberpunk 2077 will also get a free upgrade to the next-gen consoles down the line too, but for now, we don’t know when that’ll be. There was a demo of Cyberpunk showcasing the power of NVIDIA’s next-generation 30 series of RTX graphics cards earlier this week too – check that out here.
