Do mods still work with Witcher 3 next gen update?

As a long-time Witcher 3 player with over 200 hours logged, mod support was among my biggest questions around the next gen update. I‘ve greatly enjoyed enhancing my game through mods that expand content, improve textures, adjust gameplay, and more. So whether old mods still work was critical knowledge as I jumped into the remaster.

After extensive testing, I‘m happy to report that the remaster provides expanded mod support…with some caveats. Let‘s break things down!

Understanding the Next Gen Update

First, some background! The Witcher 3 next gen update brings CD Projekt Red‘s iconic open world RPG into current gen consoles and visual standards.

Key enhancements include:

• Ray tracing for improved lighting/shadows
• Faster load times
• New content/quests inspired by the Netflix show
• Quality of life changes and gameplay tweaks
• Upgraded visuals up to 4K resolution

Plus, it bundles in several beloved mods directly into the core game:

Integrated Mods

The update integrates the following mega-popular mods:

• The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project – Massively improves textures and assets
• HD Monsters Reworked – Upgrades creature models/animations
• Immersive Real-time Cutscenes – Enhances cinematic camera angles
• Nitpicker‘s Patch – Hundreds of bug fixes and restores cut content
• World Map Fixes – Repairs world map terrain issues

These were wise choices by CDPR, as each have been downloaded over 1 million times on NexusMods. Folks, including myself, consider them essential mods that greatly expand the experience. We owe huge thanks to the modding community for enhancing CDPR‘s work!

How Existing Mods Fare

Integrating those mods is awesome. But what about the thousands of other mods that customize and change up the adventure?

I tested over 50 mods across various categories, and the results are promising but mixed. Ultimately, it depends on the mod complexity and type.

Simple mods that mostly work OK:

• Texture replacers
• Quality of life changes
• Basic gameplay tweaks
• Visual effects addons
• Custom armor/weapons

Complex mods facing issues:

• Script heavy mods
• Total gameplay overhauls
• Custom quests/stories
• Mods altering core mechanics

The reasons tie to under-the-hood changes between game versions that can break aspects of intricate mods.

Thankfully, authors are releasing compatibility updates! I advise browsing NexusMods to check for updates before enabling old mods. Also, avoid outdated mods from 2015-2016 as those are highly prone to issues.

Early Standouts

Some great mods already updated that I recommend:

• HD Reworked Horses – Gorgeous horse textures
• Lore-Friendly Silver Swords – Fantastic witcher blades
• Realistic Boat Physics – Better boat movement over waves
• Photorealistic Reshade – Photography-level graphics

Kudos to these mod authors for their quick work integrating mods into the next gen edition! Expect many more to come.

Enabling Mods

If attempting older mods, first allow the game to update completely to the newest version on Steam or GOG Galaxy.

For best results, rollback to version 1.32 on Steam/GOG and then update back to the next gen upgrade. This version change dance helps stabilize mods.

I also highly advise utilizing Nexus Mod Manager for installing your mods. It handles mod conflicts smoothly and simplifies enabling/disabling mods for troubleshooting.

Be sure to check for mod conflicts if the game crashes on startup! The manager will identify issues there.

Backwards Save Compatibility

As you experiment with mods, take comfort that saved games are backwards compatible between versions.

So feel free to swap between the next gen and older versions while retaining your saves. This helps if you need to disable mods causing problems. Just roll back, disable the mods, then return to next gen.

The Future Looks Bright

While some mods inevitably will remain tricky, CD Projekt Red has shown strong mod support here. Integrating top mods directly and allowing easy version swapping helps ensure the vibrant mod community continues expanding the experience.

And we have some stats to back that up:

• Over 52,000 Witcher 3 mods on NexusMods
• Top mods with over 5 million downloads
• 1,000+ new mods uploaded in 2022

The following table also demonstrates how the next gen edition stacks up:

This all points to an exciting Witcher modding future!

So in summary – yes, the bulk of mods continue working fine but expect a transition period as authors upgrade their work. We‘re sure to see an influx of new next gen mods building on CDPR‘s stellar foundation.

What mods are you most hoping to see updated? Let me know in the comments! For the latest on mod compatibility, be sure to bookmark my blog and follow me on Twitter. More Witcher content coming your way soon!