The Witcher 3’s PS5 and Xbox Series X/S next-gen upgrade may be implementing fan-made mods like The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project when it launches later this year.As reported by Kotaku, The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project’s creator Halk Hogan announced that he has been in talks with CD Projekt Red about including his mod in the upcoming release.“Hello my dear friends! It’s been a long time since the last video,” Hogan wrote. “I know I announced a new HDRP preview in early March but I was silent the whole time. Sorry for that. 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. As always, I would like to thank you for all your support and kind words.
The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project, which you can download now on NexusMods, has over 4.1 million downloads and “aims to improve the graphics by reworking models and textures to better quality.”Kotaku reached out to CDPR about this matter, and it responded by saying, “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 the creators of various mods for the 2015 release of the game.”
CDPR confirmed there are currently no “binding agreements with any such party,” but the discussions are happening.
This would be another example of a AAA developer using the community to improve their games, much like Rockstar Games did when they implemented a fan-made solution to reduce GTA Online’s loading screen time by 70%.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions are currently scheduled to be released in the second half of 2021.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.