CD Projekt RED has detailed its latest The Witcher 3 Next-Gen patch, and it brings with it some very welcome performance improvements for console players - notably in the game's ray tracing mode on Xbox Series X.
Update 4.01 also makes changes to the game's screen space reflection quality, which applies to both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions of the game. Here's the full list of changes coming with The Witcher 3 Patch 4.01 for Xbox, which is rolling out now to all systems.
Console-Specific
- Fixed an issue where consoles could create a higher amount of saves than their set limit, resulting in various issues with saving the game or user settings being reset.
- Improved Screen Space Reflections quality on next-gen consoles.
- Optimized ray-traced global illumination on next-gen consoles to improve the performance of Ray Tracing Mode.
Quests & Gameplay - Available on all platforms
- Battle Preparations - Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to interact with Avallac'h during the objective "Let Avallac'h know everything's ready."
- Family Matters - Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash during the transition to Ciri's Story: Out of the Shadows when speaking to the Bloody Baron.
- King's Gambit - Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to participate in the fistfight with the second Vildkaarl due to an invisible obstacle.
- Wine Wars: Belgaard - Added a retrofix for the issue we fixed in 4.00, where the quest couldn't be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
- A Dangerous Game - The armor in Caesar's room should now change its appearance when the Alternate Nilfgaardian Armor is turned on.
- Axii Puppet - Increased the health and damage dealt by the puppet.
- Adrenaline Rush mutation should now work according to its description.
- Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.
Localisation - Available on all platforms
- Fixed various issues with Arabic localization.
- Added the localized versions of Orianna's song "Lullaby of Woe" in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
- Adjusted Priscilla's lip-sync animation to match her voice-over in Simplified Chinese during the song "The Wolven Storm".
PC-Specific
- Fixed an issue where the Screen Space Reflections setting wasn't working on PC despite being turned on. Players who had previously set their SSR setting to high may notice a performance impact.
- Added a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, which can be toggled by players with compatible hardware. It improves frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.
These are only the most notable changes. The patch contains other minor fixes that didn't make it into this list.