Witcher 3 Nintendo Switch’s biggest changes ‘are interface and controls’

CD Projekt Red is “proud” of The Witcher 3’s Nintendo Switch port and its “biggest changes” involve user interface and controls, according to UI coordinator Alvin Liu.

Announced during the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct, The Witcher 3 Nintendo Switch port is being developed by Saber Interactive “in close cooperation” with CD Projekt Red.

The RPG was first released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in 2015, so it was a surprise to some that the game was able to be ported to Nintendo’s comparatively less powerful console.

The Cyberpunk 2077 studio has confirmed that the Switch version will run at 540p in handheld mode and 720p while docked, with dynamic resolution enabled.

In an interview with VGC, Liu also confirmed “hardware trade-offs” involving draw distance and less foliage.

“We’re really happy with how Witcher 3 is playing on Switch,” he said. “It’s still at a quality that we’re proud of, but we also understand that there were hardware trade-offs that we had to do, in terms of performance versus graphics.

“Right now there’s a bit less foliage and some of draw the distances are lower… but it still looks amazing,” he added. “I was very impressed. Unless you pointed a lot of changes out to me I probably wouldn’t have noticed them.”

In terms of content, CDPR is “not really cutting anything” to accommodate Nintendo’s console, according to Liu.

“You’ll get the full Witcher 3 and all expansions,” he said. “We’re not really cutting anything. The biggest changes that we made involve the user interface and how you interact is a bit different on the Switch compared to other versions.

“I think if this is your first experience with The Witcher 3, then you’re going to be really thrilled and enjoy it. Our company is pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released both physically and digitally on Nintendo Switch in 2019.

According to publisher CD Projekt, the Witcher series has sold some 40 million copies across three releases since launching in 2007.