The game was previously expected in Q2 2022
Published: 13th April 2022 | Source: CD Projekt Red | Author: Mark Campbell
The Witcher 3's next-gen version has been delayed "until further notice"
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 3's next-generation version has been delayed indefinitely, postponing the game's release until after its planned Q2 2022 launch window.
In their announcement post, which is quoted below, CD Projekt Red has confirmed that they have moved the game's development in-house. Previously, the work on The Witcher 3's next-generation version was conducted by Saber Interactive, who worked with CD Projekt Red to create The Witcher 3's Switch version and the game's PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X versions. The reason behind this decision is unclear.
The Wither 3's next-generation version is expected to launch with new graphical effects (such as ray tracing), higher resolution assets, and other improvements.
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that The Witcher 3's next-generation upgrades will be available for free to all existing The Witcher 3 owners on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This is especially good news for PC gamers, as PC gamers require no platform upgrades to access The Witcher 3's next-generation version. That said, hardware upgrades may be necessary to utilise The Witcher 3's upgraded graphical feature set.
We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice.
We'll update you as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding.
Right now, the reasoning behind this delay remains unclear. All we know is that CD Projekt Red has moved The Witcher 3's development in-house and that Saber Interactive appears to no longer be working on the game's next-generation update.
Given the fact that CD Projekt Red has not revealed a new release timeframe for The Witcher 3's next-generation update, it is likely that it has been delayed until sometime in 2023. If CD Projekt Red expected the game to launch this year, they likely would have said so.
You can join the discussion on the delay of The Witcher 3's next-generation version on the OC3D Forums .