Key points
- Any version of the game, including retail, can be redeemed for a DRM-free copy on GOG.com; see here for details.
General information
- Official Forums
- Official Witcher Wiki (Fandom)
- Official Witcher Game Series Wiki (Gamepedia)
- GOG.com Community Discussions
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- All versions can be registered on GOG.com even if a product key was not included; see here for details.
Essential improvements
Patches
There are two patches available for download on the official page:
- Patch 1.4 upgraded the game to the Enhanced Edition.
- Patch 1.5 removed the DRM and fixed bugs introduced by patch 1.4. It also contains five community-made adventures.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher\saves\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Application Support/com.cdprojektred.TheWitcher/GameDocuments/The Witcher/saves/ |
Steam Play (Linux) |
<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/20900/pfx/[Note 1] |
Video
HBAO+
Use Nvidia Profile Inspector[3]
|
- Open The Witcher driver profile via Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Change
Ambient Occlusion compatibility to 0x0000002D (MechWarrior Online) .
- Change
Ambient Occlusion usage to Enabled .
- Change
Ambient Occlusion setting to high quality.
- Apply changes.
|
Input
Logitech GamePanel
- Information such as statistics, ammunition, health and items the player is currently holding can be displayed on the LCD panel or smartphone application.
Display |
Notes |
Arx Control application |
Native support in Enhanced Edition. |
G19 color screen |
Native support in Enhanced Edition. |
G15 monochrome screen |
Native support in Enhanced Edition. |
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, battle music, SFX and voice. |
Surround sound |
|
Requires EAX |
Subtitles |
|
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Closed captions |
|
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Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX 4.0 only.[4] In-game option may need to be re-enabled after every launch.[5][6] |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Traditional Chinese |
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Czech |
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French |
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German |
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Hungarian |
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Italian |
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Polish |
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Brazilian Portuguese |
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Fan translation, Download. |
Russian |
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Spanish |
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VR support
Issues unresolved
Poor performance on AMD
- There is an issue where the game caps at 20fps, at some point it might go higher.
Issues fixed
- "Fixes to Common Problems" - A comprehensive list of known issues and potential fixes
Crash at launch
- Recent Steam Beta clients may cause the Steam version of the game to crash.
- Only applies to the Steam version of the game. Refer to "Fixes to Common Problems" for other solutions.
Opt out from Steam Beta client[citation needed]
|
- Open Steam settings and select the "Account" tab.
- In "Beta participation" click "Change..." and select "NONE".
- Steam should ask you to restart the client and download the latest stable release of the client.
|
Enable windows compatibility mode for "witcher.exe"[8]
|
- Open game folder "The Witcher Enhanced Edition\System".
- Open witcher.exe properties by right clicking it and then clicking properties.
- Click compatibility tab and enable compatibility mode.
- From drop down list select Windows 7 and apply the settings.
|
Minimum system requirements not met
Disable the system requirements check[10]
|
- This fix is known to cause other issues. You might be unable to change the game's resolution above a certain limit, and the texture quality and antialiasing settings might be locked to the lowest settings. To avoid this, try the optional step or the registry edit solution below.
- Create a shortcut to
witcher.exe (the game itself, NOT the game's launcher).
- Right-click the shortcut and choose Properties.
- Add
-dontforceminreqs to the end of the Target field.
|
Use replacement TexSettings.d2a
|
- Download TexSettings.d2a.
- Move the file to
<path-to-game>\Data\Override .
Notes
- If the
Override folder does not exist, create the folder and then move the file to that folder.
|
No mouse in the main menu
Press Shift[citation needed]
|
In some cases (when the intro cinematic is skipped or if opening the Steam overlay) the mouse cursor does not function on the main menu. This can be fixed by holding the key that releases the mouse in Over the Shoulder view(Shift by default).
|
Frequent game crashes
Set the game to run in windowed mode[citation needed]
|
Use a program such as Borderless Gaming to force the game to run in a borderless window.
|
Disable Steam overlay
|
Disabling Steam overlay fixes the crashing.
|
Pre-rendered cutscenes don't display
- Audio will still play, but the video will freeze to the last displayed frame.
Lower the lighting setting
|
- Go to Advanced Settings.
- Set Lighting to low. Cutscenes should now display correctly.
- You can revert the lighting setting afterwards. However, the setting will need to be altered before each pre-rendered cutscene.
|
In-game cut-scenes appear pixelated
Use any 16:9 resolution[citation needed]
|
- Go to Options, Video Options.
- Choose a 16:9 resolution (1280x720, 1366x768, 1600x900, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160 or 4096x2160, etc.)
|
Lights visible through walls
- On some systems with SLI enabled, light sources are sometimes visible through walls.
Change SLI rendering mode[citation needed]
|
- In the Nvidia control panel go to "Manage 3D settings."
- Hit the tab "Program settings" and add
<path-to-game>\system\witcher.exe
- Scroll down through the settings to the one called "Multi-GPU rendering mode" and change it to Force Alternate frame rendering 2.
- Click Apply.
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
Build compatible with macOS 10.15 (Catalina) added on 27 July 2022. |
Modifications
Setup
- Prior to modding The Witcher, make sure you have an Override folder in your game's Data folder. You will need to create the folder if you do not have it already.
- While not necessary, it is highly recommended to unpack mods into their own separate folders within Override for organization and troubleshooting purposes.
- Several mods contain specific installation and usage instructions that should be reviewed before attempting to use them, failing to do so may result in your game breaking.
- Improves RAM management in The Witcher 32 bit engine.
- Removes all Witcher intro videos.
- Adds a missing option in OTS view that allows Geralt to walk instead of run.
- Adds thousands of new high quality textures and integrated RS.
- Adds fully customizable Environmental Audio Extension (EAX) sound emulation, to simulate directional audio and echoes.
- This mod aims to differentiate all Witchers in the game, with unique looking armor and high quality character retextures.
- A couple of characters faces are now more in-line with their Witcher 3 models.
- Includes unique cat-like eyes for all witchers.
- If you use W1 Vanilla remaster, you will need to remove or overwrite the textures provided in that mod. Most of the textures are the same resolution, so there should be almost no visual difference apart from character's new appearances.
- Fixes a bug that causes Geralt to have a different running speed every time you load a save or enter a new chapter.
- This mod focuses on bugfixes and restoring cut content.
- Also provides general quality of life improvements.
- All herb spawn amounts are increased.
- Also Fixes the Han plants giving Berbercane bug.
- Scabbards for Geralt's swords were created by the developers, but ultimately not implemented in the game. This mod enables the unique scabbards for every sword model.
- Stops the disappearing of dead bodies where it is not lore-friendly. Certain creatures bodies, such as Ethereal beings, will still disappear.
- May cause performance issues.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 2800+ |
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+ |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
15 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon 9800 DirectX 9.0c compatible
| Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX ATI Radeon X1950 XT |
Sound (audio device) |
DirectX version 9.0c-compatible sound card | |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
10.8 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i5
| Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 |
System memory (RAM) |
4 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
14.5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GT 650M AMD Radeon HD 6750M Intel HD Graphics 5000 256 MB of VRAM
| Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX AMD Radeon HD 6970M Intel Iris Pro 5200 512 MB of VRAM |
Other |
Not recommended to use native Retina resolutions | |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References