The Witcher 3 Xbox One X Enhancement Patch Live, PS4 Pro Enhancements Coming Soon

One of the best-looking games of the generation is about to get even more beautiful. This morning CD Projekt Red announced that the Xbox One X update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is live, and a PS4 Pro patch is on the way as well. The PS4 Pro patch will be here in the "near future," which we assume means in the coming weeks and not months.

As is typical with most of the XB1X and Pro upgrades we've seen so far, this update will enable two basic options for player: a 4K mode, and a performance mode. In 4K Mode, The Witcher 3 will run in 4K, or else supersampled in 1080p if you don't own a 4K display. CD Projekt Red noted that, in addition to running in 4K, the upgrade features enhanced shadows, ambient occlusion, improved texture filtering, and higher resolution textures. The game will run at 30 FPS in 4K mode.

Alternatively, you can elect to play the game in Performance Mode, which will prioritize frame-rate over resolution. From this morning's press release: "Switching to Performance Mode will enable dynamic resolution scaling, rendering the game at a resolution of minimum 1080p and up to 4K, while targeting 60 fps during gameplay. Both modes will additionally feature support for HDR, making the game look more vivid when played on an HDR-capable display."

Personally, I always prioritize frame-rate over resolution when given the option, but since players will be able to toggle between the modes on the fly, I think it will be worth bumping up the resolution and graphical details every now and then for those "stop and stare" moments. Once the sword-swinging resumes, smoother gameplay will take priority, but make sure you take frequent breaks to marvel at The Witcher 3's beauty when you can.