CD Projekt RED announced last year that their seminal 2015 RPG The Witcher 3 would be releasing for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021. Details on the game’s next-gen port are still sparse, and the Polish developer is yet to tell us what sort of upgrades we should be looking forward to. But it seems some of these updates will be included in collaboration with members of the game’s PC modding community.
As discovered by Kotaku, Halk Hogan, creator of the The Witcher 3 HD Reworked project recently posted an update on Nexus Mods on his project after a period of silence, saying that he had recently been contacted by CDPR, and that it’s “very likely” his work on the mod will be included in the game’s next-gen update. “I know I announced a new HDRP preview in early March but I was silent the whole time. Sorry for that,” he wrote. “But in return, I have some good news, and the reasons why I was quiet and why I don’t have too much to show. I think the most important news is that I got an official message from CDPR about cooperation. While it’s not certain yet, it’s very likely that HDRP will be included in the official next generation update. I will inform you what’s next.”
Meanwhile, CD Projekt RED also confirmed in a statement to Kotaku that even though no agreements have been reached with anyone, the developer is “in talks with creators of various mods”.
“In addition to our own development efforts on the upcoming next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC, we are also in talks with creators of various mods for the 2015 release of the game,” they said. “As of this time, however, we do not have any binding agreements with any such party.”
CD Projekt RED did not confirm whether creators would be compensated and credited for their contribution, if such a contribution were to be made.
In related news, The Witcher 3’s director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz recently resigned from CD Projekt RED following allegations of bullying.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. On PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, where it’ll benefit from near-instantaneous load times (among other things), it’ll launch in the second half of this year. It will be handled by Saber Interactive, who were also in charge of the game’s impressive Nintendo Switch port. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more updates in the meantime.