The Witcher 3 Next Gen crashing on PC: How to fix, possible reasons, and more

The next-generation patch for The Witcher 3 was one of the most-anticipated updates that fans had been waiting for. With the live update, players have been experiencing Geralt’s journey in the vast marshy lands of Vellen with enhanced graphics.

Aside from improved visuals, CD Projekt Red has also introduced a fair bit of additional content and features along with a completely new side quest.

While the game's performance on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S has been incredible, PC players will disagree. Since the update, the title has faced a significant amount of game crashes and glitches, which often makes some sections unplayable.

What makes these performance issues incredibly annoying is that there is no permanent fix to them, just a few workarounds introduced by the community.

This guide will, therefore, go over some of the fixes to tackle the PC crash issue in The Witcher 3 Next Gen.

---

Fixing PC crash issues in The Witcher 3 Next Gen

As mentioned, there are no permanent fixes to solve the PC crash issues in The Witcher 3 Next Gen. However, here are a few workarounds that seem to have been effective, albeit temporarily, for many players.

---

1) Avoid DirextX12 mode

One of the major reasons behind The Witcher 3 Next Gen crashing on PC is the new DirectX 12 mode. Community members have said that turning on the mode leads to more crashes than usual.

When launching the game, it will ask you if you want to experience it in DirectX 12 or 11. It's important to pick 11 over 12 as it is likely to reduce the frequency of crashes.

However, this is not going to outright solve the issue for you, as you may still experience performance bugs as well as forced shut downs from time to time.

---

2) Re-installing the game

Re-installing the game seems to have resolved the issue for some. If a file is corrupted in the installation directory, re-installing the game will be one of the best options.

Additionally, you can also scan and fix files using the options from the Steam launcher. This will automatically go through all the files in the directory and replace the corrupt ones with new files.

---

3) Wait for the patch

CD Projekt Red is aware of the performance issues that PC players have been facing following the next-generation update. The developers are, therefore, expected to come up with a hotfix in the coming days to help with the constant crashing of the game.

As for the glitches and other in-game bugs, one will need to wait a little longer for CD Projekt Red to root out all flaws in The Witcher 3 Next Gen.