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To use cross-save in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, update the game, connect both platform versions to the same CD PROJEKT RED account, leave Cross Progression enabled, and create a new save. A cloud icon beside that save confirms it was uploaded. On the other platform, sign in to the same account and choose the uploaded save from Load Game. The feature is labeled Cross Progression in the menus. Nintendo Switch follows a different, My Rewards-first sequence.
What “cross-save” means in The Witcher 3
CD PROJEKT RED calls the feature Cross Progression. It stores an eligible save against your CD PROJEKT RED account so another supported installation can see it. You are not copying a file manually between consoles or computers; each game instance must be online, linked to the same account, and able to run the save’s content.
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Cross Progression is separate from a platform holder’s ordinary cloud-save service. A PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, GOG or Nintendo cloud backup may protect saves inside that ecosystem, but it does not by itself make a save available on another platform. The Cross Progression control in the game must be used.
“Once connected, cross progression will be enabled by default.” — CD PROJEKT RED support instructions
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Check these requirements before you move a save
Most failed transfers come from one of five mismatches. Check both the source and destination installations before troubleshooting anything more complicated.
| Check | Source installation | Destination installation |
|---|---|---|
| Game update | Run the latest patch available for that platform. | Run the latest patch available for that platform. |
| Account | Connected to your CD PROJEKT RED account. | Connected to the same CD PROJEKT RED account. |
| Cross Progression | Enabled in Options → Gameplay → Cross Progression. | Account connection normally enables it automatically; verify the setting if saves do not appear. |
| Save upload | Create a new save after enabling the feature and look for the cloud icon. | Open Load Game and look for that uploaded save. |
| Game content | Note whether the save uses the base game, expansions or other DLC. | Install the content required by the save before attempting to load it. |
| Mods | Record the enabled mod set if the save is modded. | Use the same compatible mods, or expect the save to fail to load correctly. |
How to enable Cross Progression on PC and consoles
The labels are consistent across the major versions, although the button used to confirm an item differs by platform. Use the prompt shown on your screen rather than assuming a universal controller or keyboard key.
- Update the game. Install the newest patch offered for your edition and platform. Cross-platform behavior depends on the updated game client, and older builds may not expose the same account or save controls.
- Launch the source copy of The Witcher 3. Use the installation that contains the save you want to continue elsewhere.
- Connect your CD PROJEKT RED account. Follow the in-game sign-in or account-linking prompt. If the game asks you to finish the connection in a browser, complete that process and return to the game.
- Check the setting. Open Options → Gameplay → Cross Progression. Leave the feature enabled. After account connection, it is enabled by default according to CD PROJEKT RED, but checking the menu catches an accidental change.
- Create a fresh save. Do not rely only on an older save made before account linking. Save your current progress after Cross Progression is active.
- Confirm the upload. Open the save list and locate the new entry. A cloud icon beside the save name is the practical indication that Cross Progression uploaded it.
- Open the destination copy. Sign in with the identical CD PROJEKT RED account on the second platform.
- Load the transfer. Go to Load Game. The uploaded source saves should be listed there. Select the desired entry and use the on-screen Cross Progression control shown at the bottom of the screen.
If the destination list is empty, stop before creating unrelated saves and work through the troubleshooting sequence below. A missing entry usually means the source never uploaded, the accounts differ, the destination lacks required content, or the game versions cannot read the save.
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Nintendo Switch: the different setup sequence
Switch uses a documented sequence that begins in My Rewards, rather than starting from the ordinary save list.
- Launch The Witcher 3 on Switch and open My Rewards.
- Use the account connection option and sign in to the CD PROJEKT RED account that you will also use on the other platform.
- Return to the game and open Load Game.
- Use the on-screen Cross Progression control displayed in the load-game interface.
- Create a new save on the source platform, confirm its cloud icon, then open Load Game on the destination installation.
Switch players who previously relied on the older Steam or GOG cloud integration need the Cross Progression system introduced in update 4.04 to carry those saves between supported versions. Updating the game and completing the My Rewards account connection are therefore essential for that migration path.
How to transfer a save between common platform combinations
PS4 to PS5
On the PS4 installation, update the game, connect the CD PROJEKT RED account, enable Cross Progression if necessary, and create a new save. Confirm the cloud icon. Install the PS5 version, connect it to the same account, open Load Game, and select the uploaded entry. The transfer is account-based; signing into a different CD PROJEKT RED account on PS5 will leave the uploaded save invisible.
Xbox One to Xbox Series
Use the same source-upload and destination-load process. The console generation change does not remove the requirements for a current game build, matching account and compatible content.
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PC to console or console to PC
Upload from the first installation only after account linking, then sign into that account on the other platform. Check edition and DLC compatibility carefully: a PC save with expansion content still requires that content on the console, and the reverse is also true.
Switch to another platform
Complete the Switch-specific My Rewards connection first. Then create and verify the Switch save upload, connect the same account on the destination, and retrieve it from Load Game. The older Steam/GOG cloud method is not a substitute for the 4.04 Cross Progression flow.
Edition and DLC compatibility
A save is not just a position in the story; it also records the game content it can use. The destination must contain the content required by that save.
| Source save | Destination installation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Base game only | Complete Edition with the expansions and DLC installed | Can be loaded because the destination includes the base-game content required. |
| Complete Edition or a save using expansion content | Base-game installation without the required expansions and DLC | Cannot be loaded until all content used by the save is installed. |
| Base game on one console product | Different base or GOTY/Complete product on another console | Cross Progression may continue the save, but the destination still needs the required content. |
| Save with DLC-specific items or quests | Edition missing that DLC | Expect a content or loading error; install the missing DLC rather than repeatedly retrying the transfer. |
On consoles, base and GOTY/Complete Edition are separate products for local saves. Cross Progression can bridge versions when the destination has the content the save expects; it does not turn a base installation into a Complete Edition.
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1. The source save has no cloud icon
A cloud icon beside a newly created save is the clearest in-game confirmation of upload. If it is absent, open Options → Gameplay → Cross Progression, make sure the setting is enabled, and create another save. Check the new entry rather than an older save made before account linking. If the icon still does not appear, keep the game online and verify that the account connection completed successfully before trying another destination.
2. The destination is using a different CD PROJEKT RED account
Cross Progression does not merge accounts. Sign out or disconnect the destination account only through the game’s supported account controls, then connect the account that owns the uploaded save. Reopen Load Game after the connection is complete. Saves associated with another account will not appear merely because both installations use the same console profile, Steam account or device.
3. The game versions or installed content do not match
Confirm that both copies are patched and compare the edition and DLC installed on each. A base-game destination can read a base-game save, and a Complete Edition destination can read that same type of save. The reverse is not true when the save uses expansions or DLC absent from the base installation. Install the missing content first, then restart the game and check Load Game again.
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4. A save vanished after a console Remastered update
Sign in with the CD PROJEKT RED account previously used for Cross Progression. If you never used Cross Progression but still have access to the old console, launch the old installation, enable the feature, and upload a new save from there. CD PROJEKT RED states that support cannot retrieve saves when Cross Progression was never used and the player no longer has access to the old console. In that situation, a platform backup or local save is the only possible recovery source; do not assume the account can reconstruct an unuploaded save.
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Use the same enabled and compatible mod set on both platforms. A save that depends on a mod can fail or load incorrectly when that mod is missing, a different version is installed, or the destination has a conflicting mod. For a clean diagnostic, test an unmodded save created after disabling mods. If the unmodded save transfers but the modded one does not, restore the matching mod environment before attempting the transfer again.
6. You are pressing the wrong control in Load Game
CD PROJEKT RED’s instructions use the Cross Progression button or key shown at the bottom of the Load Game screen. The control is not guaranteed to be the same across keyboard layouts, controllers and consoles. Read the prompt on the destination screen, select the Cross Progression option, and then choose the uploaded save.
7. You created a destination save before checking the transfer
Creating local saves does not upload a source save or repair account linking. Return to the source installation, make a fresh save with the cloud icon, and then check the destination’s Load Game list. Keeping one clearly named test save makes it easier to identify the successful upload.
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Use this short procedure whenever you change console generations, reinstall the game or switch editions.
- Write down the source platform, destination platform and edition on each.
- Update both installations before opening the save list.
- Connect both copies to one CD PROJEKT RED account.
- On the source, verify Options → Gameplay → Cross Progression is enabled.
- Create a new, clearly identifiable save.
- Confirm the cloud icon beside that save.
- Check that the destination has every expansion and DLC used by the source save.
- On the destination, open Load Game and use the displayed Cross Progression control.
- Load the transferred save and make another save on the destination after confirming the correct story position, inventory and quests.
This workflow separates upload, account identity, content compatibility and loading into distinct checks. If the transfer fails, you can identify which step failed instead of repeatedly reinstalling the game.
What Cross Progression does not do
- It does not make a Complete Edition save load on a base installation that lacks required expansions or DLC.
- It does not merge saves belonging to different CD PROJEKT RED accounts.
- It does not recover an unuploaded save from a console you no longer possess.
- It does not automatically make incompatible mods work on another platform.
- It does not replace the platform’s own backup system for local save recovery.
Once the destination can see and load the cloud-marked save, Cross Progression is working. Future transfers should begin by creating another cloud-marked save on the current platform, especially before uninstalling an old version or changing editions.
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