CD Projekt Red Explains How It Improved The Witcher 3 Remaster Gameplay

CD Projekt Red is preparing its next-generation remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and this time the studio is telling players it’s putting gameplay first rather than treating the project as a pure graphics pass. In a recent REDstream discussion, two developers—Yigsoft Krisztian Varaljai (production and game direction) and CD Projekt Red publishing producer Oleg Shatulo—walked through the kinds of combat and movement changes the remaster is designed to bring, while still aiming to preserve the original vision of how the game plays.

The takeaway from the presentation is that the remaster exists to improve how The Witcher 3 feels to play. After the game’s “next-gen” update already delivered a satisfactory baseline for visuals, CD Projekt Red decided not to focus on a drastic gameplay overhaul. Instead, any new decisions were said to be evaluated with the original intent of the game in mind—so the goal is refinement, not a complete reinterpretation.

Combat overhaul focused on control and clarity

Combat was framed as the system that drew the most criticism from players, especially around responsiveness and targeting—complaints that players don’t always have enough control over what Geralt is attacking, when he commits to strikes, or how effectively he avoids enemy blows. To address that, the team said the remaster will make player commands translate into Geralt’s movement more predictably.

One of the first changes targets distance management. In the original, Geralt could be positioned relative to enemies in two broad stances: close or far. The remaster will introduce “significantly more” positioning options, which the developers say should make players feel that what they’re doing has more meaning. They also described a behavior where, if needed, Geralt will take a step or two toward an opponent to help prevent two common problems at once: missing an attack due to distance, or accidentally stepping so close that Geralt becomes fully exposed to an enemy’s counterattack. The team noted that these kinds of movement adjustments will come with new animations to support the updated flow.

To make the renewed combat readable in the moment, CD Projekt Red also discussed how switching targets will work. The remaster is said to improve lock-on switching between enemies, and it will pair that with a dynamic camera during fights. This is presented as a direct response to feedback about the “next-gen” update’s third-person perspective from behind Geralt, which players felt made it harder to understand what was happening on the battlefield. The new system is intended to adjust the viewpoint so players can orient quickly and clearly whether they’re facing a single opponent or multiple enemies.

Progression changes, new skills, and a bigger role for combat choices

Beyond positioning and camera, the remaster is also changing how skills and builds develop. The developers said monsters and bandits can be finished off using a single finisher, but that players will first need to perform some prerequisite action before executing it—though the conditions themselves weren’t revealed during the stream.

In the skill tree, Geralt will gain new unlockable abilities. Existing skills will remain so familiar builds can still be created, but other abilities will receive major modifications. The team’s main goal is to make it easier to reach stronger upgrades: advancing to the next level of a branch won’t require investing a fixed number of points in an entire row. Instead, players will only need to purchase the talents that lead into the next tier.

CD Projekt Red also emphasized that Geralt’s skills are planned to play a larger role than they did in the 2015 release. Enemy behavior is likewise expected to require more active decision-making. The team suggested that some attacks should be parried, while others are better avoided, aiming to reduce repetitive encounters without turning the game into a soulslike. They also floated a possible option to change control layout so players could perform strikes using pad buttons labeled R1/RB and R2/RT, but they stressed that this hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Movement updates for both Geralt and Roach

The presentation didn’t stop at combat. Movement changes are also part of the remaster, affecting both Geralt and Roach. For ladders, the team said they should no longer be a hindrance. Geralt will be able to climb up and down more easily, and even grab on mid-jump while leaping from different directions.

For Roach, the developers attempted to calm fears that the horse would become an “ideal” mount overnight. Instead, they say mounting and dismounting will be more dynamic, supported by new animations that are meant to look natural. They also described improved obstacle avoidance while riding—Geralt should react in some way to obstacles without requiring as much player intervention. Herb gathering is another quality-of-life change: collecting plants should no longer require Geralt to remove his feet from the stirrups to reach them.

The developers concluded that each change might seem minor on its own, but together they should make spending time in The Witcher 3 more enjoyable. The remaster is scheduled to launch on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on September 29.