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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered became available on September 29, 2026. Its PC version adds Path Tracing and newer upscaling options to the feature set introduced in the 2022 Next-Gen update, so older settings advice and console targets do not automatically apply. This guide explains what the options do, what the publisher says about compatibility and performance, and how to choose a starting point without treating official targets as guarantees.
Which version of The Witcher 3 does this guide cover?
This guide covers The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, available September 29, 2026. CD PROJEKT RED describes Remastered as a free upgrade for owners on supported platforms; it includes Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. The publisher lists PC Path Tracing, support for PS5 Pro, and a native Nintendo Switch 2 version among the edition’s updates. CD PROJEKT RED’s release announcement and Remastered feature notes describe the current release.
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Version matters: the December 2022 Next-Gen update added ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, plus ray-traced reflections and shadows on compatible PC hardware. Remastered retains that context and adds Path Tracing and later-generation upscaling features on PC. A setting or frame-rate figure documented for the 2022 update is not proof of how every platform behaves in Remastered.
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Ray tracing
Ray tracing is a rendering approach used to calculate lighting effects, including how light reaches areas indirectly and how it contributes to shadows and reflections. The 2022 update’s official notes specifically identify ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, with ray-traced reflections and shadows available on compatible PC hardware. These effects can make lighting and reflected surfaces more detailed, but they require supported hardware and can be demanding.
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Path Tracing
Remastered’s PC feature notes add Path Tracing, a more demanding lighting option. It is a visual-quality choice, not a universal default: the official support page reports separate RT and Path Tracing performance configurations, but the available information does not establish a single frame-rate penalty that applies to all GPUs, resolutions, scenes, or settings. Treat Path Tracing as an option to evaluate against your own performance target rather than assuming a fixed cost.
How to decide
- If smooth frame delivery matters more than the most demanding lighting option, begin with ray tracing and Path Tracing off, then enable features one at a time while checking your usual gameplay scenes.
- If you want to try ray tracing, start with the RT option and compare image quality and frame delivery before moving to Path Tracing.
- If Path Tracing is available and your priority is visual fidelity, test it with the game’s supported upscaling and frame-generation options where appropriate; do not assume it will meet a particular FPS target on your system.
What do upscaling and frame generation do?
Upscaling renders the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs an image for the selected output resolution. It can help performance compared with rendering every pixel at native output resolution, though image quality and stability depend on the method, mode, scene, and hardware. Frame generation creates additional displayed frames based on rendered frames; it is a separate feature from upscaling and does not mean the game is rendering every displayed frame in the same way. Low-latency features are intended to address responsiveness, but their availability and effect depend on the supported implementation.
CD PROJEKT RED’s current PC notes list these options:
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| Technology | Features listed for Remastered PC | Compatibility stated by the publisher |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 | Upscaling technology and Ray Reconstruction | Availability depends on compatible hardware and the options detected by the game. |
| AMD FSR 4 | 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 | Frame Generation and Low Latency | Availability depends on compatible hardware and the options detected by the game. |
The publisher also lists Ray-Traced HairWorks for PC. Its notes do not establish identical visual results or performance across all hardware, so check the in-game options rather than assuming every technology will appear on every PC. The feature details are in CD PROJEKT RED’s Remastered notes.
Which settings affect performance most?
Output resolution
CD PROJEKT RED says higher output resolution significantly affects FPS. As a result, a target measured at one resolution should not be treated as a promise at another. If performance is short of your goal, resolution and upscaling mode are important variables to test alongside demanding lighting features.
Lighting features and scene complexity
Ray tracing and Path Tracing add rendering work, but their performance cost varies. The publisher warns that actual performance can change with the scene or gameplay as well as system configuration, graphics settings, and output resolution. A quiet area and a demanding scene may not produce the same result, so check more than one representative location.
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Other graphics options
The 2022 PC update introduced Ultra+ controls for background character count, shadows, grass, textures, foliage visibility, terrain, water, and detail. Those categories can help tune image quality and performance, but the available current evidence does not quantify each setting’s FPS effect in Remastered. Change settings incrementally and compare like-for-like scenes rather than assuming a specific option has a fixed cost.
How to choose settings for your PC
- Check the current requirements and your hardware. CD PROJEKT RED’s current support 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 statement is a minimum-settings reference, not a promise for ray tracing, Path Tracing, higher resolutions, or every scene. The page also says an SSD is required and Windows 10 will no longer be officially supported or tested going forward, though the game may still run. See CD PROJEKT RED’s current PC requirements.
- Set a realistic resolution and frame-rate goal. Choose the output resolution and smoothness target that matter to you first. Because the publisher says resolution significantly affects FPS, assess performance at your intended output rather than relying on a result from another setup.
- Start from a stable baseline. Use a non-ray-traced preset or turn off RT and Path Tracing initially. Check the game’s frame delivery in the kinds of scenes you play, then adjust conventional graphics options if needed.
- Try upscaling if you need more headroom. Select an option exposed by the game for your hardware, then compare image quality and performance. Note whether you are using upscaling alone or upscaling with frame generation; these are distinct settings.
- Enable demanding lighting options one at a time. Try ray tracing first, then Path Tracing if supported and desired. Recheck representative scenes after each change. Keep the combination that meets your own balance of clarity, visual detail, and frame delivery.
CD PROJEKT RED’s published RT Minimum, RT Recommended, and Path Tracing measurements use DLSS, FSR, or XeSS set to Auto. Its Path Tracing configuration also uses upscaling and Frame Generation. Other listed configurations use native resolution with upscaling off. That means the Path Tracing result is not a like-for-like comparison with an unassisted native-resolution result. The publisher cautions that its FPS targets come from QA testing and may fluctuate by scene or gameplay; actual performance varies with configuration, settings, and output resolution.
What graphics modes are available on consoles?
Console mode descriptions are platform- and version-specific. The 2022 update notes described the following targets; they are historical and should not be treated as current Remastered specifications.
| Platform and version | Mode described | Target or qualification |
|---|---|---|
| PS5, December 2022 Next-Gen update | Ray Tracing | Ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion with dynamic resolution scaling; targeted 30 FPS. |
| PS5, December 2022 Next-Gen update | Performance | Targeted 60 FPS. |
| Xbox Series X, December 2022 Next-Gen update | Ray Tracing | Ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion with dynamic resolution scaling; targeted 30 FPS. |
| Xbox Series X, December 2022 Next-Gen update | Performance | Targeted 60 FPS. |
| Xbox Series S, December 2022 Next-Gen update | Quality / Performance | No ray-tracing features were listed at that time; Quality targeted 30 FPS and Performance targeted 60 FPS. |
| PS5 Pro, Remastered | Ray Tracing | Current feature notes say the updated mode targets 60 FPS. |
| PS5 Pro, Remastered | Performance | Current feature notes say it targets 60 FPS and can reach up to 90 FPS with a VRR-capable display. |
The current Remastered notes also say PS5 Pro supports PSSR, VRR, and uncapped frame rates. Those PS5 Pro statements do not establish the current modes or targets for standard PS5, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S. The December 2022 mode descriptions are in the Next-Gen update notes; current platform details are in the Remastered feature notes.
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