CD Projekt Red may use Witcher 3 mods in next-gen upgrade

CD Projekt Red, developer of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, is considering using mods for The Witcher 3 for its next-gen upgrade of the game, for Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5 and Windows.

The Polish game studio has reached out to the creator of The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project, a mod that adds more detail to textures and models while still trying to keep the game’s original style. The modder states that he’s in talks with the studio about “collaboration” and that “although it’s not certain yet, there’s a very good chance the mod will come in the game’s next-gen upgrade.” CDPR confirms to Kotaku that the talks are ongoing, but underlines that “no binding agreements have been signed yet.”

With backward compatibility, the Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 can now also play The Witcher 3. In addition, gamers will also notice that frame rates and dynamic resolutions are higher, but the games don’t really use the extra power compared to a generation back. That’s what the game’s next-gen upgrades are for. The same goes for Windows: the game is obviously playable and performs very well on today’s hardware, but it was made with the hardware from release year 2015 in mind.

It is not yet clear whether the modmaker will be compensated for his work. The game studio could not tell Kotaku that yet. The upgrade is provided by Saber Interactive on behalf of CDPR. In addition to better textures, the game will also receive support for ray tracing, it has been reported.

A trailer of The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project