The Witcher 3 Remastered: official comparison clip from 23 September 2026 divides fans

• The clip shows Geralt using Igni against drowners in a swamp, alongside footage from the original game.
• In the comparison, IGN says differences stand out in armor detail, water, reflections, and fog.

What happened

IGN writes that the official The Witcher account posted a clip on X/Twitter on 23 September 2026 with the text: “Choose your cast - wisely. #TheWitcher3Remastered”. The video places footage from The Witcher 3 next to footage from the remaster and uses the same scene to compare the two versions directly. In the source, the post is linked to the official account name @thewitcher and to a short comparison of the same shot.

The scene in the clip shows Geralt using Igni against drowners in a swamp. According to IGN, the remaster appears to show more detail in Geralt’s armor and in the water, but reactions to the visual presentation are mixed. The comparison is therefore not just a showcase for the remaster, but also a prompt for debate about how the same environment is rendered in two versions.

One point of discussion is the reflection in the water. In IGN’s description, the original version still shows a fire reflection, while that reflection is missing in the remaster clip. The fog also differs: the original footage shows more defined mist clouds close to the ground, while the remaster uses a more atmospheric fog in the distance. In the supplied tweets from LeafusMaximus and desugar_64, that difference is also called out explicitly, with the same reference to the missing fire reflection and the different structure of the fog.

IGN links those differences to ray tracing in the remaster. The source does not mention a release date, platform list, or technical specifications for The Witcher 3 Remastered, and it also does not confirm whether the clip comes from the final build. The available social posts likewise add no extra technical context beyond the visual comparison itself. The source base is therefore limited to the shared clip, the description of the footage, and the reactions to it.

Background

The discussion centers on one official comparison of the same The Witcher 3 scene. That makes changes in lighting, water, and fog directly visible side by side in the clip IGN discusses. The comparison is therefore not based on separate screenshots or a trailer with different scenes, but on one moment from the same environment, with Geralt, the drowners, and the swamp at the center.

The available information says nothing about a final release or technical details beyond the comparison mentioned above. There is also no public response from CD Projekt or the remaster team in the supplied material. That means the source only confirms that the clip was shared and that it sparked debate over the visual presentation, not that an official explanation has already been given for the graphical choices.

The source does mention ray tracing as a possible explanation for the differences, but provides no technical backing, no frame-rate data, and no platform information. It remains unclear whether the footage shown is representative of the final version of The Witcher 3 Remastered or of an in-progress build. The supplied tweets do not add any further product information; they are limited to noting that the reflection and fog look different from the original game.

Related GAME-scanner articles

• The Witcher: Sapkowski is open to unusual adaptations, CD Projekt mentions remaster and expansion

Sources

• IGN: “Some Fans Seem to Think The Witcher 3 Remastered Looks Worse Than the Original in Official Comparison Clip”
• X/Twitter: @thewitcher, 23 September 2026
• X/Twitter: @LeafusMaximus, 23 September 2026
• X/Twitter: @desugar_64, 23 September 2026