The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen Update Hits Xbox Series X|S on December 14
THE MOST AWARDED GAME OF A GENERATION
NOW ENHANCED FOR THE NEXT
ABOUT THE GAME
You are Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you can explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down Ciri — the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.
The Complete Edition contains the base game, offering a huge, over 100-hour long, open-world adventure, as well as both of its massive story expansions: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine worth an extra 50 hours of gameplay!
It also comes with all additional content released for the game, alongside new items including swords, armor, and alternate outfits inspired by The Witcher Netflix series — and more!
UPDATED FOR XBOX SERIES X|S
Behold the dark fantasy world of the Continent like never before! The Xbox Series X|S version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been enhanced with numerous visual and technical improvements, including vastly improved level of detail, faster loading times, a range of community created and newly developed mods for the game, real-time ray tracing, and more — all implemented with the power of the new consoles in mind — as well as a built-in Photo Mode.
PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRE
Trained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
• Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
• Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities.
• Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.
EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLD
Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity.
• Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas.
• Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services.
• Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
TRACK DOWN THE CHILD OF PROPHECY
Take on the most important contract of your life: to track down the child of prophecy, the key to saving or destroying this world.
• In times of war, chase down the child of prophecy, a living weapon foretold by ancient elven legends.
• Struggle against ferocious rulers, spirits of the wilds, and even a threat from beyond the veil – all hell-bent on controlling this world.
• Define your destiny in a world that may not be worth saving.
The Witcher 3’s Xbox One X patch delivers in spades
The Witcher 3’s enhanced Xbox One X patch gives us more than we expected. Two new options are added with this update: a 4K mode that puts the emphasis on hitting a native 3840×2160 at 30 frames per second, falling back on dynamic resolution scaling to ensure a consistent gameplay experience.
But the real surprise is the inclusion of a performance mode that prioritises 60fps gameplay, albeit at a much lower pixel-count. On paper, CD Projekt Red’s latest release should be the definitive console release, but just how does the package on Xbox One X stand up to the recently released PS4 Pro patch?
Let’s talk numbers. The 4K mode is ambitious when considering a standard Xbox One largely ran the game at 1600×900. In Xbox One X’s case we’re getting a huge boost in pixels rendered with this mode, and even though it’s capped at a familiar 30fps ceiling, the engine is capable of hitting 3840×2160 in less taxing areas. Look to the sky, wander around interiors, or explore less GPU-intensive environments, and the game has never looked sharper. However, the catch is that resolution drops in more intensive areas. As an example, galloping around the notorious Crookback Bog — an area renowned for its impact on performance — sees the image resolve to a lower 3200×1800.
Regardless, the result is impressive.
While there’s a scope for it to go even lower (there’s literally a huge open world here with a multitude of possible tests), an 1800p to 2160p range still falls within a perceptual threshold in delivering a superb result on 4K display. By contrast, PS4 Pro makes use of a checkerboard method to push its own 4K image. Side-by-side with X’s native output, the checkerboarding technique still works brilliantly, and the only real downside here is a faint stippling effect on moving edges, largely hidden by the game’s motion blur.
Another curious quirk of PS4 Pro’s approach is an apparent lack of post-process anti-aliasing added to the pipeline, meaning coverage on tree outlines is often left raw. Compared to Xbox One X, which adds an extra pass to these elements for a cleaner (if softer) frame, it puts Microsoft’s console in pole position in terms of image quality, but the truth is that owners of both mid-gen refresh consoles get great results for their UHD displays, with super-sampling in place for 1080p users.
A full breakdown of The Witcher 3’s enhanced Xbox One X patch, comparing 4K and performance modes — plus how it stacks up against PS4 Pro.
But this patch is about more than just the pixel count. On its blog, developer CD Projekt Red has outlined additional visual upgrades, reserved for the 4K mode. This includes enhanced ambient occlusion, shadows and textures, all bringing it up to par with PS4 Pro’s quality presets. That is, with one exception: Xbox One X uses an even higher quality setting for shadows, giving a visibly clearer outlines to distant shade. Checkerboarding aside, the visual feature set is much the same between both machines, but this one area alone sees Xbox One X pull aside.
In terms of gameplay, it’s fair to say that Xbox One X does push on to a higher level with an extra perk in performance. With the 4K mode selected, key stress points like Crookback Bog and Heatherton village run at a flawless 30fps on Xbox One X. It’s difficult to interrupt the game with even an occasional stutter in detail-rich environments like Novigrad too, showing there’s still clearly lots of headroom for the console.
Bearing in mind the sustained 25fps refresh on PS4 Pro during the Crookback area especially, it’s a surprise to see its rival winning out in performance as well. For our money, the 4K mode on Xbox One X gives the smoothest, best-looking take on The Witcher 3 outside of the PC space.
The new performance mode for Xbox One X users is a less clear-cut success, but worth having as an option. The idea is simple: contain the target resolutions to a lower figures, and attempt to hit 60fps insteaed. In terms of visual settings, texture filtering takes a hit in quality next to the 4K mode too, as does the presentation of shadows — but otherwise the two are like-for-like in core asset quality, draw distances and effects. The main dividing point is in resolution.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProXbox One X offers two options, starting with a dynamic 4K mode hitting a peak of 3840×2160 at 30 frames per second, though we noted drops to 3200×1800. Alternatively, there’s a 60fps performance mode that runs from 1920×1080 up to 2368×1332, with the expected hit in image quality.
PS4 Pro’s checkerboarded 4K technique holds up well in still shots, but curiously this misses the post-process anti-aliasing of Xbox One X, leaving a more ‘raw’ image with no coverage for jagged edges.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProShadow quality is improved on Xbox One X at range. PS4 Pro’s visual settings are otherwise on par, in terms of draw distances and effects, though shadow resolution (bottom left) doesn’t match Microsoft’s machine.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProAmbient occlusion on Xbox One X matches the upgraded setting PS4 Pro received with its own patch.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProIn terms of effects work, we’re getting parity between these three methods of play.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProTexture filtering in the performance mode takes a visible hit compared to Xbox one X’s 4K mode. Otherwise, assets are identical.
Xbox One X 4K Mode
Xbox One X Performance Mode
PlayStation 4 ProA final shot to illustrate the divide in image quality across fine hair detail between performance and 4K modes.
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From our pixel counts, this performance mode uses 1920×1080 as the lowest resolution, but goes right up to 2368×1332 at its peak (and may go further in areas we’ve yet to test). Now, thankfully that number tends to veer towards the latter end of this scale, even in the complex Novigrad City area, but the hit in clarity is plain to see when switching from the 4K mode. Purely from a visual standpoint, it may best suited for those still on 1080p screens: in the best case you get super-sampled image, but otherwise it’s a pixel match for a full HD display.
Of course, the real point is its bid for 60fps action, and the fact is that results are perhaps too variable to justify this image quality hit. Unlocking the frame-rate in this mode lays bare all the stresses the engine puts on Xbox One X, and pushes the CPU limitation to the forefront. Whether it’s the 35-50fps range in Novigrad, or the wavering 50-60fps line in Crookback Bog, this is clearly not an ideal fit for the hardware.
That’s not to discount it entirely; the option to play segments of the game at full frame-rate is often a revelation, and some points certainly hit the mark. Facing the Griffin boss, for example, is a beautifully smooth experience, with only a few dips as we roll around the white orchard area. We can add this title to our list of games to test on a FreeSync display once we return in the New Year.
Performance mode is perhaps an experiment — one with as many successes as there are failures to hit this target. Ultimately though, our recommendation would be to stick to the 4K mode for more consistency all round. That said, offering the performance mode is an interesting move from CD Projekt Red, and one we hope makes it to PS4 Pro in some form with its upcoming patch (which also aims to bring parity with Xbox One X HDR support). It could be fascinating, if purely to finally see PS4 Pro’s performance profile with no frame-rate ceiling. Looking to the far-flung future, unlocking frame-rate and enabling dynamic resolution in the process will make this a fascinating title to test in back-compat mode on the next Xbox console.
With its impressive 4K results, newly-introduced HDR support and its alternative performance option, this upgrade is pure fan service from the developer for one of the generation’s biggest, most beloved games. We’d been speculating on how this one would turn out for a while, and in many ways it’s exceeded expectations. The dynamic 4K setup and improved visual settings elevate it past PS4 Pro’s standard — but the focus on doing so without compromising performance is laudable. It’s only been a month since we claimed that Sony’s super-charged PS4 possessed the best console version of The Witcher 3, but with this update, the crown has been passed on.
The Witcher 3 compared on Xbox One and Xbox Series X
The version for Microsoft’s current generation console has no official release date. Initially, she was engaged in a Russian studio
VG Tech has released a new video comparing the technical content of The Witcher 3 on Xbox One X to Xbox Series X.
On Microsoft’s current generation console, the game is running under a backwards compatibility program in performance mode. The game has been updated to version 4.1.2.10. nine0003
On Xbox One X, the game runs at 60 fps, dropping to 40 fps only in the most intense scenes. The resolution jumps between 1920×1080 and 2650×1490. Xbox Series X is more confident and demonstrates 3456×1944 and 2400×1350 diagonals.
2022-04-20 22:27:49
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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Last year was poor for major releases, but the indie scene worked like clockwork. We decided to highlight solid products from small studios and publishers that we missed.
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Wild Hunt — Game of the Year Edition (Xbox One/Series S/X Russian) [Digital Access Code]
The Game of the Year edition includes the most complete version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as well as the Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone add-ons and 16 additional add-ons.
- Hearts of Stone — A 10-hour adventure in which Geralt will have to travel through the wastelands of No Man’s Land and the dark corners of Oxenfurt in order to complete the contract of the mysterious Glass Man.
- Blood and Wine — A 20-hour adventure in which Geralt travels to a new area — Toussaint. This land does not know war, but terrible secrets are hidden behind seeming prosperity. nine0046
Description of the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a role-playing game that takes place in a wonderful fantasy world where you have to make difficult decisions and be responsible for their consequences.
The world is engulfed in war. The army of the Nilfgaard empire erases everything in its path, trying to get to the very heart of the Northern Kingdoms. Driven by deeply personal motives, the famous witcher, Geralt of Rivia, will stop at nothing to find and protect a certain person spoken of in an ancient prophecy. Meanwhile, an enemy that knows no fear and pity follows him, the most unimaginable nightmare — the Wild Hunt, a cavalcade of ghostly riders, harbingers of doom and death, capable of leaving no trace of entire settlements in just one night …
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt offers a non-linear, mature, action-packed story and an unparalleled non-QTE combat system that combines a wide range of RPG tactical elements with fast-paced and spectacular combat worthy of the best action games.
Game Features The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- As Geralt of Rivia, a monster-slaying witcher, embark on a legendary journey through a vast open world as vivid and authentic as ever.
Here, days turn into nights, and insidious weather can sometimes derail all plans and force you to act completely differently than you intended. nine0046
- War-ravaged No Man’s Land, the windswept Skellige archipelago and the prosperous port city of Novigrad await you. Each area has its own unique atmosphere, inspired by the myths and traditions of different cultures. It will take more than 100 hours of play to fully explore this amazing world.
- The scenario follows the decisions you make during the game. Along the way, you will find many unexpected events and believable, memorable characters, each of which has its own motives and ambitions. nine0046
- The unique combat system offers a wide range of tactics in the most spectacular and action-packed battles ever seen in an RPG game.
- Improve and develop the unique skills of the witcher, adapting the game for yourself. Complete the most interesting tasks and collect priceless artifacts. Hunt bloodthirsty monsters using your own strategy.
Apply combat magic. Travel on foot, on horseback and under sail, making your own unique way through the endless world, which gives truly limitless possibilities. nine0046
- Powered by state-of-the-art REDengine 3 graphics technology, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt heralds a new era in RPG visualization and raises the bar of quality never seen before, delivering an incredibly powerful experience and deep immersion in the virtual world.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will equally appeal to both longtime fans and those who first get acquainted with the witcher Geralt of Rivia and an amazing world full of bloodthirsty monsters — sometimes in human form. nine0046
Hearts of Stone
Hearts of Stone is the first official major expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the award-winning epic RPG adventure.
A professional monster hunter receives an unusual job — a contract for a ruthless bandit leader who somehow gained the gift of immortality.
- Continue the story of a professional monster hunter
Take a new order to make Geralt even stronger and get unique equipment!
nine0044 - Defeat enemies with a variety of new weapons and enchanted artifacts.
- Earn even more levels by completing new orders for monsters and fighting unique opponents.
- Take a break from the battles by playing gwent with new cards or diving into the maelstrom of a new romantic story.
Having received an order from Mr. Mirror, Geralt must meet with Olgerd von Everek, a ruthless bandit leader who has received the gift of immortality.
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Blood and Wine
Blood and Wine is the final story expansion for the award-winning The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt RPG.
Welcome to the land of warmth and sun, to a distant valley untouched by war, to the land of knights-errant, noble ladies and excellent wine! When else to go to these lands, if not now — at the hour of cruel and mysterious murders? The legendary monster hunter Geralt of Rivia takes on his latest contract…
In addition to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Blood and wine awaits you over 20 hours of new adventures in which beauty dances wildly with horror, and love coexists with deceit.
- Completely new open-world lands of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt await you — the Principality of Toussaint.
- Get ready for over 20 hours of new discoveries and adventures in lands unlike anything you’ve seen before in the Wild Hunt and Hearts of Stone.
- Relax and unwind in your own vineyard, which will become your home in a foreign land.
- Hunt down the elusive creature that keeps the entire principality in fear.
- Solve the mystery of the mysterious murders — investigate brutal crimes and understand the motives of the villain to predict who will be the next victim. nine0046
- Learn the dirty secrets of Toussaint’s capital of Beauclair: explore the city by day, ask locals by night.
- Use new equipment, items and witcher skills to defeat monsters never seen before in the series.
- Complete the last task in a world that still has something to surprise you.
- Visit lands where old fairy tales are not what we remember them and fight surreal creatures from children’s books. nine0046
- Paint your armor in different colors with a brand new game feature.
- Challenge the knights in the grand tournament and show off your skills as a swordsman, or uncover the dark secret of the spoon-obsessed creature called Wight.
- Enlist the support of powerful friends to defeat the creature that keeps an entire principality at bay, or, forgetting about saving Toussaint, play Gwent all day long, because a brand new Skellige deck awaits you! nine0046
nine0045 Explore new places of interest and complete new side quests in an area the size of No Man’s Land and Novigrad.
Activate the received code through a browser:
Go to the Microsoft website: https://account.microsoft.com
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Go to the tab: https://redeem.microsoft.com/enter?…..
Enter the code you purchased.
Game console activation code:
Connect your set-top box to the Internet and activate the code in the settings.
I can’t activate the code — this kind of message appears:
«Contact the seller» or «Region does not fit» — it means that activation requires changing the current IP address.
There are several options for resolving the issue:
On the set-top box:
we also distribute the Internet to the set-top box through an access point; nine0003
On PC:
Install VPN (on PC):
hideme.
