The Witcher 3 Remastered Mods: How to Install, What Broke

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered went live on 29 September with a new Mods button on the main menu. The same update also stopped some of the mods you may already have from working. CD PROJEKT RED's support article on the Mods menu names three kinds of file, and says any mod containing them "will not work upon the release of the update": XML files, script files and w3strings.

So there are two questions on day two, and they have different answers. How do you use the new menu? And what do you do about the mods you already had? This post covers both, plus a Steam rollback detail CD PROJEKT RED's own instructions leave out, and what a mod does to your trophies and your cross-save.

If you want to know which mods CD PROJEKT RED showed running on console before launch, that list is in our Remastered frame rates, saves and mods post. This one is about the plumbing.

Three file types broke on 29 September

The support article doesn't list mods by name. It lists file types, and a mod is affected if it contains any one of them.

The XML and .w3strings descriptions come from CD PROJEKT RED's own REDkit changelog, which describes XML entries as items and abilities and calls .w3strings files language files.

The same article adds one sentence of hope: REDkit, the studio's free modding tool, includes a way to update affected mods so they work as normal. Read that carefully. REDkit is the tool mod creators use to build mods, so unless you make mods yourself, the fix is the mod's author rebuilding it in REDkit, not a button in the game. Your realistic options are to wait for an updated release on the mod's page, replace it with something that has already been updated, or roll the game back.

The last row matters too. A texture-only mod is not on the broken list, but CD PROJEKT RED has not said it is safe either. Remastered's own patch notes say the game now uses an improved shading model and updated textures and models based on the HD Reworked Project, so an old texture replacement may now sit on top of new art. Test it before you assume it looks right.

Rolling back: Steam's CLASSIC branch is Patch 1.32

CD PROJEKT RED's rollback article tells Steam players to open the game's Properties, go to Betas and select CLASSIC. CD PROJEKT RED's Remastered FAQ links to that article for anyone who wants the previous version. Here is the catch for modders: Steam's own branch list for the game describes CLASSIC as the classic release of The Witcher 3, Patch 1.32. That is the build from before the December 2022 next-gen update, and the branch was last changed on 13 December 2022.

The same Steam branch list carries a second option CD PROJEKT RED's article doesn't mention:

If the mods you want back were built for the next-gen game, the next-gen branch is the one that matches them. Picking CLASSIC puts you on a 1.32 install that those mods were never made for.

Three caveats before you switch:

• Epic has no rollback at all. CD PROJEKT RED's article says the Epic Games Store only serves the latest version.
• GOG uses a different route. The same article sends GOG Galaxy players to Manage Installation, then Configure, then the Classic beta channel with auto-updates turned off. We could not check which build that channel serves, so look at the version list before you pick one.
• Only the latest version is fully supported, by CD PROJEKT RED's own wording. The article also hasn't been updated since before Remastered was announced, and it doesn't say whether a save made in Remastered loads on an older build. Back up your saves first.

Our Remastered upgrade guide has CD PROJEKT RED's Steam and GOG steps in full. On Steam, swap CLASSIC for next-gen if you are rolling back for next-gen mods.

Installing mods from the new Mods menu

The Mods menu is CD PROJEKT RED's in-game front end for mod.io. The support article lists it on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. That is one more platform than the original May 2025 announcement promised, which named only PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S and planned the feature for 2025 before it slipped into 2026.

The install flow, per the support article:

1. Launch the game and pick Mods from the main menu.
2. Log in with your CD PROJEKT RED account.
3. Connect that account to mod.io. The 2025 FAQ says you can create a mod.io account right there the first time you open the menu.
4. Browse, and press Subscribe on a mod you want.
5. Restart the game.
6. Open the Installed section and check that the mod is listed with its checkbox selected. If it isn't ticked, it isn't enabled.

Three rules around that flow:

• It costs nothing extra. CD PROJEKT RED says uploading, sharing and downloading mods through Cross-Platform Mod Support is free for owners of the game.
• Installing needs a connection. You can't install new mods offline. A modded save still loads offline, but only if every mod it needs is already installed.
• Unlinking happens on mod.io. Sign in to mod.io with your CD PROJEKT RED account and manage linked accounts there.

Nexus Mods and Steam Workshop are still allowed on PC

The Mods menu is not a replacement you are forced into. CD PROJEKT RED's 2025 FAQ says existing services like Nexus Mods and Steam Workshop can still be used, and that mod.io is only required to get mods on console. The official REDkit page on thewitcher.com still links out to Nexus Mods.

What the Mods menu doesn't do is exempt anything from the breakage above. The support article's statement is about what a mod contains, not where you downloaded it, so by that wording an old script mod stops working whether it came from Nexus, Steam Workshop or anywhere else.

Console mods: the rules that differ

The REDkit side of this is worth knowing too. REDkit came out on 21 May 2024, free to owners, built by CD PROJEKT RED with Yigsoft. Its Steam page still describes it as PC-only for both creating mods and installing them. The creation half still holds. The installing half predates the Mods menu.

Modded saves, trophies and cross-progression

This is the section to read before you subscribe to anything on console.

On consoles, a modded save earns no trophies or achievements. The support article says trophies and achievements are disabled on modded save files, and marks those saves with a mod.io cog icon in the save list.

A save counts as modded if mods were enabled when it was made. That is the article's definition. It doesn't say whether turning mods off later clears the flag, so don't count on it. If trophies matter to you, keep a separate save line that has never had mods switched on.

Cross-progression needs the same mods on both ends. To carry a save between platforms, the support article says the same set of mods must be enabled on both. If a mod is missing or incompatible on the target platform, the save may not load correctly. The practical rule: if you play on PC and console, only run PC mods that also carry the "Available on consoles" tag.

None of this touches your unmodded progress. CD PROJEKT RED's Remastered FAQ says existing saves are compatible and achievements already earned carry over. Skills are reset because of the new skill system, which our frame rates, saves and mods post covers.

For mod authors: what REDkit 5.0 changed

The patch notes give REDkit one line about engine and UI improvements. The detail is in the changelog on CD PROJEKT RED's REDkit user guide, where version 5.0.1042178 is dated 29 September 2026. For the breakage above, these are the entries that matter:

The first entry is the interesting one for anyone who has managed a big PC mod list. The changelog says scope-based overrides, together with the existing script annotations, let mods merge themselves automatically at game start. CD PROJEKT RED says this may cut script conflicts and may make the Script Merger tool unnecessary. Note the "may". That depends on authors actually rebuilding their mods this way.

What CD PROJEKT RED has not said

As of 30 September, none of the CD PROJEKT RED pages cited in this post cover these:

• Nothing about PC achievements with mods. The trophy rule in the support article is written for consoles only.
• Nothing about clearing the modded flag on a console save once mods are switched off.
• No updated rollback article. It still says CLASSIC, which on Steam is Patch 1.32.
• No published list of console-approved mods. The "Available on consoles" tag on each mod page is the signal to go by.
• No compatibility promise for texture-only mods, only the absence of a warning.

Quick Action Checklist

• If your game started acting strangely after the update, check your mod list for script, XML or w3strings mods first. Those are the three types CD PROJEKT RED says stopped working.
• Unless you build mods yourself, wait for the author's REDkit update or swap in an alternative.
• Rolling back on Steam to keep next-gen mods? Pick the next-gen branch (Patch 4.04), not CLASSIC (Patch 1.32). Epic can't roll back at all.
• Back up your saves before switching builds.
• To install through the new menu: Mods on the main menu, log in with your CD PROJEKT RED account, link mod.io, Subscribe, restart, then confirm the checkbox in Installed.
• On console, keep a save line that has never had mods on if you care about trophies or achievements.
• Playing on PC and console with one save? Only run mods tagged "Available on consoles".
• Mod authors: read the REDkit 5.0 changelog before rebuilding. Script blobs are what get script mods onto console.