Nextgen update The Witcher 3 for PC and consoles of the new generation pleased with its release fans of the legendary story of Geralt. However bugs, departures and others difficulty starting did not pass by such a significant event. Despite the fact that CD Project RED promises to make every effort to resolve them as soon as possible, some problems still prevent players from fully enjoying the new content in the game.
In the guide below, we will analyze common remaster errors. Witcher 3 and tell you how to fix them.
The Witcher 3 Remaster System Requirements
Before proceeding to the main part of the guide, evaluate your device and make sure that it meets at least the minimum system requirements set by the developers.
The minimum (DirectX 11):
- Resolution: 1080p.
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1).
- Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz, AMD A10-5800K APU (3.8GHz) or better.
- Video card: NVidia GPU GeForce GTX 660, AMD GPU Radeon HD 7870 or better.
- RAM: 6 GB.
- Free disk space: 50 GB.
Recommended (DirectX 11):
- Resolution: 1080p.
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1).
- Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3,4 GHz, AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz or better.
- Video card: NVidia GPU GeForce GTX 770, AMD GPU Radeon R9 290 or better.
- RAM: 6 GB.
- Free disk space: 50 GB.
No ray tracing (DirectX 12):
- Graphic settings: high.
- Resolution: 1080p.
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or 64-bit Windows 11.
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7400, Ryzen 5 1600 or better.
- Video card: NVidia GTX 970, Radeon RX 480 or better.
- RAM: 8 GB.
- Free disk space: 50 GB.
Ray Traced Global Illumination (DirectX 12):
- Graphic settings: ultra.
- Resolution: 1440p (DLSS or FSR).
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or 64-bit Windows 11.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K, Ryzen 5 3600 or better.
- Video card: NVidia RTX 3070, Radeon RX 6700 XT or better.
- RAM: 16 GB.
- Free disk space: 50 GB.
With all ray tracing effects (DirectX 12):
- Graphic settings: ultra.
- Resolution: 4K (DLSS or FSR).
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or 64-bit Windows 11.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-9700K, Ryzen 7 3700X or better.
- Video card: NVidia RTX 3080, Radeon RX 6800 XT or better.
- RAM: 16 GB.
- Free disk space: 50 GB.
If your device meets the minimum or recommended system requirements for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen update, then let's move on.
The Witcher 3 Remaster crashes on Steam Deck
Nextgen The Witcher 3 on Steam Deck devices runs exclusively in DirectX 11 mode. DirectX 12 is listed as "Default Options" in REDlauncher. Therefore, in order to fix the problem in question, you need to switch to DirectX 11 manually.
The Witcher 3 Remaster is missing from the PlayStation Store for PS5
Official response from CD Project RED:
“We are aware of an issue where players from multiple countries who own the base game as well as the expansions are unable to find and download the PlayStation 3 enhanced version of The Witcher 5 from the PS Store. We are working on a solution."
As of December 16, 2022, affected countries include: Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine. You can track the update of the list at CD Project RED official page.
As for the situation with the lack of The Witcher 3 nextgen in Russia and Belarus, CD Project RED, unfortunately, will not be able to personally solve this problem. This is because the new generation version on PS5 considered a separate product, and the PlayStation Store is currently does not work on the territory of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
The only thing left for users who want to download the Witcher 3 remaster on PS5 is to wait for the PS Store to reopen in the two aforementioned countries. Otherwise, you can use workarounds, but this will require you to re-purchase the game - either a disc or a digital version for a foreign account.
How to increase FPS in The Witcher 3 Next-Gen update
After the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (4.0), fans waiting for the remaster got access to two versions of the game:
- DirectX 12. Includes all graphical enhancements and ray tracing features.
- DirectX 11. Ray tracing support is missing, along with some general graphical improvements introduced in the free update. Performance may vary compared to the above version, but this mode can be called the most forgiving for users with medium power devices.
Therefore, if you are experiencing performance problems, it is recommended to play the updated version of The Witcher 3 for DirectX 11. DirectX 12, unfortunately, at the moment feels heavy even on well-built PCs.
Common Mistakes of The Witcher 3 Remaster
Next, we will analyze the solution to the problems that a small percentage of users encountered.
What to do if the game does not launch on Steam and GOG
In this case, CD Project RED recommends that users temporarily switch to a previous version of the project, prior to the next-gen update. To revert to old version The Witcher 3 on Steam, you need:
- Launch the launcher and go to personal "Library».
- Find the game and by right-clicking on the name, open "<font><font>Materials</font></font>».
- Expand tab "BETA VERSIONS"And choose"classic (Patch 1.32)».
- Wait until Steam completes the process of rolling back the game to a previous version.
In order to return the old version of The Witcher 3 to GOG, follow a series of the following steps:
- Open the installed games section in the GOG Galaxy launcher.
- Select "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" then "File management", followed by "Tune».
In a new window, first of all, you need to disable the automatic update feature. After that, you will be able to select the desired version of the game. Most importantly, do not forget to save the changes by clicking on "OK".
Add-ons (DLC) are missing - how to solve the error
The error in question can occur if additional content is embedded in the game. To solve it, you need:
- Remove all built-in modifications.
- Open the root folder with the game.
- Delete category folder "dlc».
Next, it is recommended to checking the integrity of game files. Once completed, the error should be completely resolved.
The Witcher 3 Remaster won't run on Windows 7/10/11
Crashes that occur at the start of the game take up a good half of all known technical problems. Game supports at least version 7 Windows in DirectX 11 mode and 10 minimum in DirectX 12 mode.
Their characteristic features:
- The appearance of a warning window with a description of the error;
- Instant crash after launch;
- Hanging on a black screen, etc.
Despite the large number of factors that cause errors of this type, in practice their elimination does not cause serious labor costs. Let's look at some of the causes of such problems and how to solve them.
Lack of required software
No modern program will work correctly without a set of DirectX executable libraries, the Microsoft Visual C ++ compiler and the .NET Framework 4 software platform. When downloading the application from official sources (Steam and other launchers), all the necessary libraries will be installed or updated automatically.
When using a self-installer or unofficial software to install additional software, you need to manually tick boxes opposite the respective items. The executable files of these programs themselves are usually located in the folder with the installer. If necessary, the necessary libraries can be downloaded from the official Microsoft website:
Missing .dlls
Such a problem is most often the result of incorrect installation of the game or additional software. The error is characterized by the appearance of a window with the name of a specific missing library.
Sample programs and related libraries:
To solve it is necessary reinstall the game itself or components for it. If the problem persists, you should use the free online directories of dll libraries and download the missing files manually.
Compatibility Mode
In practice, the compatibility problem occurs when trying to run old games on new systems. To do this, Microsoft has provided a whole range of measures that emulate the work of the OS of previous versions.
How to run an application in compatibility mode:
- Right-click on the shortcut of the game being launched and go to "properties".
- Select the "Compatibility" tab.
In the menu that opens, you can run the automatic compatibility troubleshooter or select the mode yourself, focusing on the year the game was released. A universal option for older products is the mode "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)". In the "Parameters" section, additional properties are set.
The Witcher 3 Remaster lags, freezes, crashes, freezes
This section covers situations where an application starts but does not work properly.
System Requirements Mismatch
Despite the fact that the requirements for user systems specified by the developers have never been a reliable guarantee of the performance (or inoperability) of the game, it is necessary take them into account at the time of buying.
The lack of performance and, as a result, lags in games can be partially leveled in the following ways.
1. Change game priority
To do this, you need to run the application, open the task manager, right-click on the desired process and increase the value to the maximum.
2. Closing inactive programs and background processes that are not related to the operation of the system
To do this, in the task manager, you need to select an unused application, right-click and select "End task". If the program involves several processes, you must go to the "Details" tab and click "End Process Tree".
3. Fine tune graphics settings
Modern games are equipped with a flexible settings menu that allows you to choose the perfect balance "performance-quality". In addition, we often publish collections of graphic settings for computer assemblies from different price segments.
An alternative to manually adjusting settings is to automatically set the settings based on a performance test that should be performed before the first launch of the game.
Similar functionality is provided by the GeForce Experience companion application, which automatically optimizes the game.
4. Defrag HDD
In the process of using a hard disk, the information contained in its partitions is subject to fragmentation (split into separate parts). This slows down the speed at which the system accesses files and can adversely affect the performance of the game.
With free tools like Wise Disk Cleaner, you should run the defragmentation process to organize the file location and speed up your PC.
5. Overclocking the frequencies of the processor and RAM
This process deserves special attention, since it is associated with great risks. Frequency overclocking is carried out by increasing the voltage supplied to the processor and increasing the clock frequency of its operation. Utilities of the type allow you to engage in such manipulations. MSI Afterburner.
6. Update PC parts
A radical but effective way to deal with lags, freezes and brakes in games. If the upgrade was made relatively recently, we recommend starting small: adding RAM sticks or changing the HDD to an SSD.
If the system requirements of the game correspond to the PC configuration, and the above methods for improving performance did not have the desired result, you need to look for the problem further.
Legacy video card software
Statistics show that the release of each sensational game is accompanied by the release of a special driver for NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon video cards. Initially developed for the novelty, it is designed to provide the highest possible performance in the early days of the post-release period.
To install the latest graphics driver, you need to download the companion software from your graphics card manufacturer:
Sometimes a new driver version can degrade the performance of both the game itself and the entire PC as a whole. In such a situation, we recommend using older versions of the software downloaded from the official archives. NVIDIA и AMD.
Conflict with antivirus or firewall
Some programs that provide user protection on the Internet can destabilize the operation of online projects. To avoid this, we advise you to initially add new applications to the antivirus exclusion list and allow them to fully function in the firewall the first time they are launched.
The procedure for adding a game process to the Windows Defender ignore list:
Start - Settings - Update and Security - Windows Security - Open Windows Security - Virus and Threat Protection - Allowed Threats.
If Windows Defender detects an unwanted or potentially dangerous program, an entry will appear in the protection log and you will be able to change the actions applied to the file.
Adding a file to the list of programs allowed by the firewall is carried out in the "Windows Security" service in the "Firewall and network security" tab. The main functionality is hidden under the "Allow applications through the firewall" button.
Bad optimization
This is one of the consequences of the mismanagement of time, misjudgment of one's own strengths, management problems and crunch that studios, young and old, have been guilty of over the past few years. The players can only hope for a conscientious attitude of the developers towards their own audience and expect the timely release of fixes and patches.
Insufficient cooling
Exceeding the temperature of a video card graphics chip or processor die above the values declared by the manufacturer not only has an extremely detrimental effect on performance, but also reduces the life of all equipment. The appearance of artifacts, flickering and image freezes are the first overheating syndrome.
A bunch of utilities MSI Afterburner и RivaTuner allows you to not only monitor temperature indicators and the degree of PC workload in real time, but also influence on the rotation speed of the coolers to improve the performance of the cooling system.
General recommendations
To prevent incorrect operation of games and applications, you must remember about OS features when installing new games.
Run as administrator
By giving the application unrestricted access to the system, the player automatically gets rid of a number of unwanted problems.
Time and date
Due to the incorrect display of the date and time, the work of some games that track this parameter may be disrupted. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to set up automatic time synchronization with the Internet.
The name of the root folder of the game
Spaces and Cyrillic characters in the name of the root folder of any program or game often cause problems with their launch. It is important to check the correctness of the path to the executable file before installing the software.
Malicious software
There is always a possibility of a negative impact of potentially dangerous programs on a computer. Therefore, it is so important to periodically initiate anti-virus checks, clear the cache, control autorun, and scan the registry for invalid entries.
Drivers for external devices
For the correct operation of third-party devices (gamepads, mice, keyboards), specialized drivers are still needed. IN Windows 10 most of this software is installed automatically. If this did not happen, and the equipment did not work, we advise you to visit the official website of the manufacturer or look for a disk / flash drive with an installer in the box from under the device.
Read on:We hope our guide helped you fix crashes and bugs, increase FPS, fix launch issues and other errors in The Wither 3 Remaster. comments other problems so that the author or the players can help. Read guides and guidesrelated to the new content of the Nextgen Update The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, on our website.
Most likely it is no longer relevant, but it might be useful. If, after updating to the latest version, the game displays the error “The Witcher 3 game has stopped working...” upon startup, try launching from the shortcut located in the root folder of the game. In my case, this is the GOG version, (make sure your video card supports DX12D), the file is located along the path: “The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt GOTY\bin\x64_dx12”, find “witcher3” and run it, it worked for me, I hope for someone will help.
On PS5 consoles, the game The Witcher 3 (PS4 version) is wildly buggy, crashes, a bunch of “broken” saves appear, in short, deleted.