The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Officially coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in December 2022 (along with the upgraded PC version), and CD Projekt Red has been patching it continuously ever since. This new 4.02 update fixes a ton of bugs and even addresses issues introduced in the game’s previous patch.
As shown in the detailed list provided by CD Projekt Red, the game reportedly now runs smoother on Xbox Series X and PS5 in Performance Mode. The 4.01 update improved the game’s performance in its Quality Mode, but somehow it also cut the frame rate in its Performance Mode. Tests performed by Digital Foundry shows how it runs at a lower frame rate with the 4.01 update installed compared to previous versions.
PC and current-gen consoles also now have a motion blur slider and better water reflections. There are also some console-specific changes, such as how the PS5 version now cannot delete the oldest save when overwriting a manual save and how users on Xbox One which enables smoother loading of cross-console saves.
There are plenty of other fixes, as noted in the full update patch notes below (some of which aren’t directly listed, though):
PC-SPECIFIC
- Improved CPU core usage in DX 12 version.
- Restored horizon-based ambient occlusion. Players who have previously turned off Ambient Occlusion will need to do so again. You can find it in Options → Video → Graphics.
- Fixed an issue where the “My Rewards” section was not localized in REDlauncher.
- Fixed an issue with a flickering Toussaint scene that occurred when NVIDIA HairWorks was disabled.
- Fixed an issue related to particle optimization that could result in temporary stuttering.
CONSOLE-SPECIFIC
- Enhanced Performance Mode on next-generation consoles.
- Fixed an issue where characters would be slightly blurry during dialogues and cutscenes on PlayStation 5.
- Fixed an issue related to memory usage in Ray Tracing Mode that could result in crashes on Xbox Series X.
- Whatever a man sows… – The game no longer crashes if Geralt runs away from Shani after starting a conversation on next-gen consoles.
- Fixed an issue where quicksaves would not load when using cross progression on Xbox One.
- Added the two missing “Top notch swords!” on previous-gen consoles.
- Fixed a manual save overwrite issue where in some circumstances the oldest gamesave was deleted on PlayStation 5.
- Fixed performance issues in Beauclair and Novigrad that occurred after loading a gamesave.
VISUAL – PC and Next-Gen Exclusive
- Improved water immersion by increasing the refraction of SSR and ray-traced reflections.
- Fixed a visual issue with brick textures where black artifacts covered stone arches.
- Added a Motion Blur slider. This can be found in Options → Video → Graphics.
QUEST AND GAMEPLAY – Available on all platforms
- Prepare for War – Fixed the lack of a dialogue option that would progress to the quest during the objective “Let Avallac’h know everything is ready.”
- State Reason – Fixed an issue where the warehouse door could become permanently locked if the player knocked, entered and then left the building.
- Scavenger Hunt: Cat School Gear Upgrade Diagrams Part 1 – Fixed an issue where the quest could remain active even if the diagrams were stolen.
- Fixed an issue where trying to start a New Game + on an incompatible save would prevent the player from starting expansions in standalone mode until the game was restarted.
LOCALIZATION – Available on all platforms
- Fixed a Korean localization issue with Ciri and Geralt’s Gwent card descriptions.
- Fixed punctuation issues in Arabic localization.
- Updated Traditional Chinese font.
Please note: these are only the most unusual changes. The patch contains other minor fixes not included in this list.