On May 21, developer CD Projekt Red released the long-awaited Redkit, an official modding tool for The Witcher 3. The new tool gives the community new freedom to develop massive content for the game. Only a day later, people are already making great use of Redkit, with one modder recreating the original Witcher game inside of The Witcher 3.
Simply called The Witcher 1 Maps, it was uploaded to Nexus Mods by AngryCatster only seven hours after CD Projekt Red announced the release of the Redkit. The mod lets players run around beautifully rendered recreations of several locations from the original 2007 title, that now have the benefit of The Witcher 3’s gorgeous textures and lighting. The specific maps included are Vizima Dike, Temple Quarter, Trade Quarter, and Old Vizima.
In addition to recreating them inside of The Witcher 3, AngryCatster also combined them into one seamless level, meaning players don’t have to encounter the pesky loading screens that plagued the original. No NPCs are populating the maps, and AngryCatster admits there are some issues (like constant falling out of bounds) but it’s a wonderful scenic tour through nostalgic locations, and also shows just how much the community can do with Redkit. The tool will help the community create massive DLC-sized mods for the game, think the likes of the Fallout London project.
It’s also a great proof of concept for what a modern remake of The Witcher 1 could look like, and it just so happens that CD Projekt Red is planning on doing just that. In partnership with developer Fool’s Theory, a Witcher 1 remake is currently in development using Unreal Engine 5. While that project is still a ways away, AngryCatster’s mod is a taste of what’s to come.
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