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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered became available on September 29, 2026. Its PC graphics options include Path Tracing and newer upscaling features, so advice written for the 2022 Next-Gen update may not describe the current edition. The right settings depend on your GPU, platform, output resolution, and whether you prioritize smooth performance or more advanced lighting.
What changed in The Witcher 3 Remastered?
CD PROJEKT RED describes Remastered as a free upgrade for owners on supported platforms. The edition includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions. Its features include PC Path Tracing, support for PS5 Pro, and a native Nintendo Switch 2 version. See the September 29, 2026 release announcement.
The version matters because the 2022 Next-Gen update and the 2026 Remastered edition do not have identical feature lists. The 2022 update added ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, plus ray-traced reflections and shadows on compatible PC hardware. Remastered adds Path Tracing to the PC options and updates the listed upscaling technologies.
What do ray tracing and Path Tracing change?
Ray tracing
Ray tracing is a way to calculate certain lighting effects by tracing light paths through a scene. The 2022 update specifically listed ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, with reflections and shadows also available on compatible PC hardware. These effects can change how light, shadow, and reflections appear; availability depends on the platform and supported hardware.
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Path Tracing
Path Tracing is a separate, more demanding PC graphics option in Remastered. It represents a higher-fidelity lighting path, but comes with a performance trade-off. CD PROJEKT RED does not publish one universal frame-rate penalty for enabling it, so the impact on your system cannot be reduced to a single FPS figure.
Neither option is a default recommendation for every player. If maintaining a responsive frame rate is your priority, start with ray tracing and Path Tracing off, then try the more demanding option only if your system has performance headroom. For a visual-fidelity priority, test the effects at your chosen resolution and check the frame rate in the kinds of scenes where you play.
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Which upscaling and frame-generation options are available on PC?
Remastered lists three vendor-specific technology families. Which options the game exposes depends on compatible hardware and its detected configuration.
| Technology | Current feature notes | Compatibility qualification |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 | Includes Ray Reconstruction | Availability depends on compatible hardware and the options detected by the game. |
| AMD FSR 4 | Includes Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2 | FSR 4 is supported on Radeon RX 7000 Series and newer; FSR 2 is used on unsupported GPUs. |
| Intel XeSS 2.0 | Includes Frame Generation and Low Latency | Availability depends on compatible hardware and the options detected by the game. |
Upscaling and frame generation are different tools. Upscaling renders the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image for the selected output resolution. Frame generation creates additional displayed frames; it is not the same as rendering more frames directly. Because the technologies and compatibility differ, choose an option the game exposes for your hardware and evaluate image quality and responsiveness in play rather than assuming all modes behave alike.
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The PC feature list also includes Ray-Traced HairWorks. For the complete current option list and compatibility notes, consult CD PROJEKT RED’s Remastered feature notes.
Which settings affect performance most?
Output resolution
CD PROJEKT RED says higher output resolution significantly affects FPS. A setting that runs smoothly at one resolution may not do so at another, so use the resolution you actually intend to play at when judging performance.
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Lighting features and scene complexity
Ray tracing and Path Tracing add visual effects that require additional rendering work. Actual performance also varies with the scene, hardware, graphics settings, and system configuration. Busy scenes can perform differently from simpler ones; no single result guarantees the same frame rate throughout the game.
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Upscaling can reduce the internal rendering resolution while preserving the selected output resolution, which can help manage rendering load. Frame generation changes how many frames are displayed, but should not be treated as equivalent to a higher directly rendered frame rate. Check both the visual result and how responsive the game feels.
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How should you choose settings for your PC?
- Confirm the edition and hardware. Check that you are running Remastered, then note your GPU, target output resolution, and the graphics options the game makes available.
- Set a performance baseline. Begin with ray tracing and Path Tracing disabled and upscaling or frame generation off. Test at your intended resolution in representative gameplay, rather than relying only on a quiet scene.
- Adjust one feature at a time. Try an available upscaling option, then evaluate image stability and responsiveness. Test ray tracing and Path Tracing separately so you can see what each costs on your system.
- Keep the setting that meets your priority. If the frame rate becomes inconsistent or the game feels less responsive, lower the rendering load or disable the most demanding effect. If performance remains comfortable, keep the visual option you prefer.
This is a way to tune your own system, not a claim about a universal best preset. CD PROJEKT RED’s published test figures use different assumptions for different configurations: its RT Minimum, RT Recommended, and Path Tracing measurements use DLSS, FSR, or XeSS set to Auto, while other listed configurations use native resolution with upscaling off. The Path Tracing configuration also uses upscaling and Frame Generation. Those results should not be compared as if every row were measured under identical rendering conditions.
Can your PC run Remastered?
CD PROJEKT RED’s current PC requirements page names the GeForce GTX 1660 as its selected minimum NVIDIA GPU and says it can reach 60 FPS or higher at Minimum settings. That is a minimum-settings reference, not a recommendation for ray tracing or Path Tracing. The publisher cautions that performance targets come from QA tests and can fluctuate by scene; actual results vary with system configuration, settings, and output resolution. Check the current PC requirements and performance notes before making an upgrade decision.
The same support page says an SSD is now required and that Windows 10 will no longer be officially supported or tested going forward, although the game may still run. These are the publisher’s current statements; support policies can change. A minimum GPU listing does not establish that every system with that GPU will reach the same result at every resolution or in every scene.
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Console mode names and targets must be tied to a particular edition and system. The 2022 Next-Gen update’s figures are historical, not proof of current Remastered behavior on those consoles.
| Edition and platform | Mode or feature described | Published target or qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Next-Gen update, December 2022: PS5 and Xbox Series X | Ray Tracing mode | Ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion with dynamic resolution scaling; targeted 30 FPS. |
| Next-Gen update, December 2022: PS5 and Xbox Series X | Performance mode | Targeted 60 FPS. |
| Next-Gen update, December 2022: Xbox Series S | Quality and Performance modes | No ray-tracing features at that time; Quality targeted 30 FPS and Performance targeted 60 FPS. |
| Remastered: PS5 Pro | Ray Tracing mode | Targets 60 FPS. |
| Remastered: PS5 Pro | Performance mode | Targets 60 FPS and can reach up to 90 FPS with a VRR-capable display. |
The PS5 Pro feature notes also list PSSR, VRR, and uncapped frame rates. Those Remastered details apply specifically to PS5 Pro; they do not establish current targets for standard PS5, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S. The older mode descriptions are in the publisher’s December 12, 2022 Next-Gen update notes.
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