Xbox Series X might be too fast for The Witcher 3 — here's why

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Fast traveling happens instantly, and the game can't quite keep up

The Witcher 3
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A lot of claims have been made about the Xbox Series X and its hardware, many of them have been around the power of Microsoft's next-gen console and how it'll chew through new games. But did you ever wonder what happens to the old ones?

An improvement is to be expected, even without any next-gen optimizations, but that can have unexpected downsides. Like the fact The Witcher 3 can’t quite handle how fast the console is.

You can see what we mean in the below clip, which was taken from a YouTube playthrough and posted to Twitter. It turns out that because the Series X’s SSD is so fast, the game can’t keep up.

The 2.4 GB/s speed of the SSD - which is some 40 times faster than the Xbox One's hard disk drive - means The Witcher 3’s fast travelling happens instantly, without any loading screens. And because of that the game doesn’t have enough time to render the map properly. So you end up with an unrendered scene for a split second while the game catches up.

It’s worth mentioning that while CD Projekt Red has promised a next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3, but that's not due until 2021 and the Series X is coming November 10. Because of that the game hasn’t been fine-tuned for any next-gen console, and explains why there’s this graphical glitch during fast travel. 

Apparently the upgrade will feature visual improvement like ray-tracing, and faster loading times. The faster loading times should, in theory, deal with the problem of the map taking an extra second or two to render after fast traveling. 

There’s no word on when the upgrade will be available, though CDPR has confirmed it will be freely available to anyone who already owns the game on PC, Xbox One, or PS4. The upgraded version will also go on sale on PC, Xbox Series X, and PS5, for anyone who doesn’t already have the game.

Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.