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The Witcher 3 on PS5: Performance Mode vs. Ray Tracing Mode

The Witcher 3’s current PS5 Remastered modes both target 60 FPS. Ray Tracing emphasizes enhanced lighting; Performance offers higher resolution and can reach up to 90 FPS with a VRR-capable display.
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On the current PS5 Remastered version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, both graphics modes target 60 FPS. Ray Tracing Mode emphasizes enhanced lighting; Performance Mode offers higher resolution and can reach up to 90 FPS on a VRR-capable display. Those are CD PROJEKT RED’s published targets and ceiling, not guarantees of a locked frame rate or independently measured results.

Which PS5 mode should you use?

Mode What CD PROJEKT RED says Choose it if…
Ray Tracing Mode Enhanced lighting; targets 60 FPS. Publisher patch notes, September 28, 2026. You care more about the mode’s lighting treatment than the higher-resolution emphasis described for Performance Mode.
Performance Mode Offers higher resolution, targets 60 FPS, and can reach up to 90 FPS on VRR-capable displays. Publisher patch notes, September 28, 2026. You prefer the higher-resolution emphasis, or want the option of the stated VRR-dependent frame-rate ceiling.

The official descriptions support comparing lighting, resolution emphasis, frame-rate targets, and the conditional VRR ceiling. They do not establish that one mode is universally smoother or visually better in every scene.

Is Ray Tracing Mode still 30 FPS?

No—not according to the current Remastered mode description. The 30 FPS figure comes from CD PROJEKT RED’s original next-gen announcement on December 12, 2022: it described Ray Tracing Mode with ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion and dynamic resolution targeting 30 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X. That announcement said Performance Mode targeted 60 FPS with dynamic resolution. Original next-gen update notes, December 12, 2022.

The September 28, 2026 Remastered notes supersede those original mode targets for the current PS5 version: both modes target 60 FPS. The old 30 FPS figure is useful as version history, not as the current Ray Tracing Mode target.

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What does the 90 FPS claim mean?

CD PROJEKT RED says Performance Mode can reach up to 90 FPS on VRR-capable displays. “Up to” describes a conditional ceiling, not a promise that every scene will run at 90 FPS. The notes do not name a required display model, resolution, or HDMI standard, and do not publish independent PS5 measurements.

If the 90 FPS ceiling matters to you, your display must support VRR. Without one, the publisher’s stated Performance Mode target is 60 FPS; the notes do not establish a higher ceiling for a non-VRR display.

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What changed in the current version?

  • September 28, 2026: The Remastered patch notes revised the PS5 mode descriptions: Ray Tracing Mode adds enhanced lighting and targets 60 FPS; Performance Mode offers higher resolution, targets 60 FPS, and can reach up to 90 FPS on VRR-capable displays. The same notes list PS5 multithreaded rendering, PS5 Pro support, PSSR, VRR, and uncapped frame rates. Remastered patch notes.
  • September 29, 2026: CD PROJEKT RED announced the Remastered version’s availability. Its release note says Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine are included for owners on listed platforms, including PS5. Remastered availability announcement.
  • October 1, 2026: Patch 5.00b arrived for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Play Anywhere PC. It included lighting adjustments, including fixes for some interiors appearing too dark. The note does not state that it changed the PS5 graphics-mode targets. Patch 5.00b notes.

Do existing owners need to buy the Remastered upgrade?

No. CD PROJEKT RED says owners of physical or digital versions can upgrade for free within the same platform ecosystem. See the Remastered patch notes for the publisher’s upgrade information.

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What the published specs do—and do not—tell you

The current official notes give mode targets and broad feature descriptions, not measured scene-by-scene frame rates or detailed output resolutions. “Targets 60 FPS” and “can reach up to 90 FPS” should therefore be read as publisher-stated performance goals and a conditional ceiling, not as a guarantee of locked performance. The notes also do not supply a detailed visual comparison that would establish precisely how the modes differ in every scene.

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