CD Projekt RED has unveiled the upcoming remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, promising a comprehensive upgrade in graphics and technology. However, this enhanced version will come with increased system requirements and will drop support for older operating systems and storage devices.
Higher Bar for Entry
The developer confirmed that players will need more powerful hardware to run the remastered game. Notably, the minimum RAM requirement has been doubled from 6GB to 12GB. More significantly, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered Edition will no longer support Windows 10. Additionally, it will exclude support for traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), requiring players to use Solid State Drives (SSDs) for installation and optimal performance.
Shift to Modern Standards
The remastered edition also moves away from older graphics APIs, dropping support for DirectX 11 in favor of DirectX 12. This move aligns the game with current-generation graphics technology, enabling more advanced visual features.
Minimum System Requirements Comparison
To provide a clearer picture of the upgrade, here’s a comparison of the system requirements:
Original Witcher 3 (2015)
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 8.1
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Phenom II X4 940
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7870
- Memory: 6GB
- DirectX: 11
- Storage: 40GB HDD/SSD
Next-Gen Update + Ray Tracing (2022)
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600
- Graphics: RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6700 XT
- Graphics Memory: 6GB
- Memory: 16GB
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 50GB HDD/SSD
Remastered Edition (Target Graphics: 1440p, DLSS/FSR, RTAO, RTGI)
- OS: 64-bit Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600
- Graphics: GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB
- Memory: 12GB
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 70GB SSD
The target graphics for the ‘Remastered Edition’ are set at 1440p resolution, with features like DLSS or FSR, Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion (RTAO), and Ray-Traced Global Illumination (RTGI) enabled. Players aiming for this quality will need at least a Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600 processor, a GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT 8GB graphics card, 12GB of RAM, and crucially, a 70GB SSD.
These changes indicate CD Projekt RED’s commitment to pushing the visual boundaries of The Witcher 3, ensuring the beloved title remains a benchmark for graphical fidelity on modern gaming platforms. While these requirements might exclude some older systems, they pave the way for a more immersive and visually stunning experience for those who meet the new specifications.
