CD Projekt Red may not be remaking The Witcher 3, but it does want you to play the "NextGen Edition" mod that makes the RPG "more detailed and realistic"

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CDPR says the mod is "faithful to the original vision and atmosphere"

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It's not often that you hear a game developer promoting a particular mod, but that's exactly what's happening in the case of The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition mod, and it's frankly kind of refreshing.

Even though I think the original 2015 release still holds up to this day, if you want it to look a little more modern and aren't satisfied with the next-gen update, CDPR itself has endorsed this mod you can download now through Nexus Mods.

"The long-awaited final version of the project appreciated by the amazing Witcher community and CD Project RED, which now raises the game's visuals to the highest level yet and enchance it to a truly next-gen masterpiece," reads the description from the mod author, Halk Hogan.

In a tweet, CDPR said the mod reworks various game assets (textures, models, materials and more)" and "aims to make the game more detailed and realistic while still being faithful to the original vision and atmosphere."

It's hard to think of a more ringing endorsement than that.

In the comparison video up top, you can see some pretty dramatic improvements to textures, colors, reflections, shadows, and level of detail. Among the long list of improvements detailed on NexusMods are "ultra quality" textures, many of which have been reworked to 4K, more realistic and 3D-looking surfaces due to relief mapping, "smooth and more detailed models," better draw distance for "many models," and "specially customized materials and shaders for all reworked assets."

Halk Hogan also said the reworked visuals were designed to stay "consistent with the original CDPR artistic vision of The Witcher 3." And with CDPR itself doing some promotional work for the mod, it's safe to say that's a true statement.

It's worth noting that the mod works with both the plain ol' base game and the next-gen update, and Halk Hogan said "the game should run similar as before mod installation." Naturally, higher graphics settings will be more demanding of your GPU, but the mod should have "little impact on performance."

There's a reason The Witcher 3 earned itself a spot on our list of the best RPGs.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.