The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt received a surprise update on all platforms today, and it brings some exciting improvements to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (as well as the PS5) in terms of visuals and performance.
You can see the full list of patch notes for update 4.02 below, including highlights like an improved performance mode, ray tracing updates, motion blur slider, and more. Its size is between 10 and 20 GB.
Note that The Witcher 3: Next-Gen’s performance mode seems to have deteriorated after the 4.01 update in early February, so hopefully the 4.02 update fixed the issue.
So here’s what’s included in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt update 4.02:
On this page:
- PC specific
- console specific
- Visual: exclusive to PC and next-gen
- Missions and Gameplay – Available on all platforms
- Localization – Available on all platforms
PC specific
- Improved CPU core usage in DX 12 version.
- Restored horizon-based ambient occlusion. Players who previously disabled 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 flickering scenery in Toussaint occurring when NVIDIA HairWorks is disabled.
- Fixed a particle optimization issue that could cause temporary stutters.
console specific
- Improved performance mode on latest generation consoles.
- Fixed an issue where characters could become slightly blurry during dialogue and cutscenes on PlayStation 5.
- Fixed an issue with memory usage in Ray Tracing mode that could cause crashes on Xbox Series X.
- Everything that man sows… – The game will no longer crash if Geralt runs away from Shani after starting the conversation on next-gen consoles.
- Fixed an issue where quicksaves could not be loaded when using cross-progression on Xbox One.
- Added two missing “first tier swords”. on previous generation consoles.
- Fixed an issue with overwriting manual saves where under certain circumstances the oldest game save would be deleted on PlayStation 5.
- Fixed performance issues in Beauclair and Novigrad that occurred after loading a save.
Visual: exclusive to PC and next-gen
- Improved the appearance of water immersion by adding refraction to SSR and ray-traced reflections.
- Fixed a visual issue with brick textures where black artifacts covered stone arches.
- Added Motion Blur slider. It can be found in Options → Video → Graphics.
Missions and Gameplay – Available on all platforms
- battle preparations – Fixed missing dialogue option that would advance the quest during the “Let Avallac’h know everything is ready” objective.
- reason of state – Fixed an issue where the warehouse door could become permanently locked if the player knocked, entered, then immediately exited the building.
- Scavenger Hunt: Cat School Equipment Upgrade Diagrams Part 1 – Fixed an issue where the quest could remain active even after looting diagrams.
- Fixed an issue where attempting to launch a New Game+ on an incompatible save game would prevent the player from launching standalone expansions until the game was restarted.
Localization – Available on all platforms
- Fixed an issue with the Korean localization of Ciri and Geralt’s Gwent card descriptions.
- Fixed punctuation issues in Arabic localization.
- Updated traditional Chinese font.
Please note: these are only the most notable changes. The patch contains other minor fixes that were not included in this list.
Happy with these improvements? Let us know in the comments section below.
See also related games
Fraser has an unhealthy obsession with all things Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead series and has an intimate knowledge of sports games on Xbox. He also supports Walsall FC, that West Midlands team you’ve never heard of.