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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIf The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is running poorly on your PC, CD Projekt Red’s current advice is to turn off NVIDIA HairWorks. The developer says HairWorks may significantly affect performance and recommends disabling it until the issue is addressed. A PC hotfix released October 1, 2026, reverted a change linked to performance and visual problems for some players, but the notes do not confirm that every HairWorks issue is fixed.
What to do if HairWorks is hurting performance
- Install the latest version available for your PC platform. Hotfix 5.00c was released for Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Battle.net, and Xbox Play Anywhere on PC.
- In the game’s graphics settings, disable NVIDIA HairWorks. CD Projekt Red’s support page says the setting may significantly impact performance and recommends turning it off until the issue is addressed in a future patch.
- Check how the game runs on your own PC with HairWorks disabled. The developer has not published a remaster-specific frame-rate gain, so there is no reliable number to promise.
- After a later update, you can try enabling HairWorks again and compare performance on your system.
What hotfix 5.00c does—and does not establish
CD Projekt Red’s October 1, 2026 hotfix 5.00c notes say the update “Reverted a change that caused significant performance and visual issues with HairWorks enabled for some users.” That is a reversion intended to address an identified problem, not confirmation that all HairWorks-related performance trouble is resolved.
The support page continues to recommend disabling HairWorks. Taken together, the practical guidance is to update the PC game and leave HairWorks off if performance is still a problem. The notes also cover other fixes and adjustments, including save/load, audio, Velen visuals, telemetry, GOG achievements, and launching the Classic 1.32 version; those changes should not be mistaken for a universal HairWorks fix.
Why a hair setting can affect more than Geralt
HairWorks is NVIDIA’s hair-and-fur rendering system, not just a setting for Geralt’s hairstyle. NVIDIA describes it as using tessellated strands with dynamic movement and shading. Its integration in the original The Witcher 3 applied to Geralt’s hair and beard, Roach and other horses, and many monsters. Turning it off therefore reduces this particular visual effect across multiple creatures, not only the hair visible in a close-up.
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The trade-off is visual detail versus performance stability. NVIDIA’s guide for the original 2015-era game reported costs of 15–20 frames per second in action scenes with many HairWorks-enabled actors, a little over 10 frames per second in one open-world view, and 13 frames per second in a close-up example. Those are historical results for the original game, not measurements of the 2026 remaster, and should not be used to predict your current performance.
Scope: this is PC troubleshooting
The HairWorks notice and 5.00c release described here concern the PC version. They do not establish a cause or remedy for performance complaints on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch 2. CD Projekt Red announced the remaster on September 29, 2026; it is a free upgrade for eligible owners of the original game on GOG, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and for Nintendo Switch 2 owners of the original Switch game. The company also lists purchase availability through Battle.net and Microsoft Store as an Xbox Play Anywhere title. CD Projekt Red’s release announcement describes broader enhancements, but those do not change the scope of the HairWorks recommendation.
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