The Witcher 3 Remastered will look “much better” on Steam Deck thanks to new tech enhancements

The Witcher 3 Remastered’s “newer rendering engine” should make the game look better without a higher performance cost

The Witcher 3 Remastered doesn’t just crank its visual effects to 11 and call it a day. This Remaster has overhauled the game’s rendering engine to deliver more with less. When asked about Steam Deck performance, CD Projekt Red’s Jakub Kutrzuba said that the game would look “much better” on the system and provide “a more beautiful image with the same cost”.

Thanks to the game’s newer rendering engine, CD Projekt Red has managed to get many of The Witcher 3’s systems running faster. While the game will feature major graphical upgrades and more advanced visual effects on high-end systems, this remaster will run more efficiently than earlier versions. For Steam Deck, The Witcher 3 Remastered will deliver more for less. Stronger visuals without demanding more powerful hardware.

The good news is that The Witcher 3 Remastered should retain the original game’s Steam Deck Verified badge. The game should run as well as before, and perhaps better if gamers target similar image quality levels. This remaster hasn’t just cranked up detail levels; it has improved the underlying game and made it better.

When it comes to Steam Deck, based on what we see, the game will work the same way, but look much much better. Because from one side we are bringing all these improvements, we are bringing new content, we are upgrading the assets, but [we also have] the new rendering features.

With the newer rendering engine, many of the systems just work faster. So we are just capable of showing a more beautiful image with the same cost, and this is also the case for the Nintendo Switch 2, which is coming together with the Remaster as well.

– Jakub Kutrzuba – CDPR Executive Producer of External Products to PC Gamer

A pure win for handheld PC gamers

As someone who has played through the entirety of The Witcher 3 on a Steam Deck, I am glad to hear that this remaster isn’t leaving handheld gamers behind. While the promise of improved visuals is appealing, it’s the promise of stable performance that removes my anxiety about this remaster. The game should run well and look better on Steam Deck. In other words, this remaster is a pure win for handheld PC gamers. We get improved gameplay and game systems as well as improved visuals. Yes, the Steam Deck won’t be able to handle advanced ray tracing and path tracing. But did anyone expect it to? What we’re getting is an improved experience that won’t leave our Steam Decks behind. That’s a great thing!

The Witcher 3 Remastered will be released on September 29th and will be available as a free upgrade to all owners of the game.

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