The Witcher 3’s next-gen update will be released in the second half of 2021

CD Projekt has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s next-gen update will be released in the second half of 2021.

The news was announced on Tuesday as part of a wider company strategy update.

The next-gen edition of The Witcher 3 will be released as a standalone purchase for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, and as a free update for players who already own the game on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S port is being developed externally by Saber Interactive, the studio behind The Witcher 3’s Nintendo Switch port, which was acquired by THQ Nordic parent Embracer earlier this year.

Speaking about the “next-gen” PC version in September 2020, CD Projekt’s VP of business development Michał Nowakowski told investors it would include improved visual quality and additional features.

“There will be a patch adding visual quality and a few extra features and of course we’re not going to charge people for a patch – it’s something they’re going to download and it will upgrade their game; upgrade their experience – but we’re not going to ask them for extra money,” he said.

“If you have your game on PC, you’ll just download an update – and the game will continue to cost what it currently does on the PC market. We consider it an upgrade of the currently existing game.”

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CD Projekt president Adam Kiciński also told investors that the reason for the next-gen version of Wild Hunt was to attempt to extend the lifecycle of the game. The acclaimed RPG celebrated its fifth birthday in May 2020 and has sold some 30 million copies.

“The key thing behind this decision is to extend the lifecycle of the game,” he said. “The Witcher 3 is still selling great and we believe that having it updated on par with the most recent games – or the games that will be released – is a great advantage in terms of sales over the next – who knows how many years? 5? 4? So, in the long term it will be a meaningful addition to our back catalogue.”

CD Projekt also confirmed on Tuesday that it has cancelled plans to release a triple-A Cyberpunk multiplayer game.