On May 21, CD Projekt Red released its REDkit modding tool for The Witcher 3, which should allow for even more fan-made expansions to the hit action RPG. You’d think it would be a while until any such mods would pop up, but one modder has already used the tool to port over a bunch of maps from the first Witcher game.
This mod comes courtesy of Nexus Mods user AngryCatser, and sees several Witcher 1 maps—the Vizima dike, the Temple Quarter, the Trade Quarter, and Old Vizima—receive quite the glow up. After all, the original Witcher was from 2007 whereas The Witcher 3 launched in 2015. That’s eight years of graphical improvements these old maps have benefited from. Also, to be frank, Witcher 1 never felt that good to control, so it’s nice to be able to roam around these maps in its far superior sequel.
What I find especially neat is that AngryCatser also combined all the maps into one seamless area you can explore, which just makes the whole thing feel a lot more immersive. However, they admit that this was something of a rush job and, as a result, the mod is not without issues. For starters, it’s apparently very easy to fall out of bounds, and some of the textures are incorrect too. If this is what can be done with the REDkit tool in less than a day, though, imagine what the mod would look like with more time in the oven.
REDkit provides access to the same development tools CD Projekt Red has, meaning the possibilities for future mods have expanded in a huge way. The studio itself has said modders can potentially create new characters, quests, and animations if they wanted too. Such mods would breathe new life into The Witcher 3 and could keep people playing it for years to come.
Fans may need it since there’s no telling when the next Witcher game will release. Same goes for the remake of the first Witcher, which is being handled by Fool’s Theory with CD Projekt Red supervising. Hopefully, that remake will be similar to AngryCatser’s mod and allow for more seamless travel between its areas as. And be prettier to look at, too.
