Special characters in the Documents path broke saves in The Witcher 3 Remastered, fixed two days later

CD PROJEKT RED released PC Hotfix 5.00c for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered on Steam on the night of October 1 (Korea time)[1]. It arrived two days after the free Remastered upgrade launched on the evening of September 29 (Korea time)[2]. Earlier that same day, Patch 5.00b had arrived on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox Play Anywhere PC version[3]. This article draws on the developer's announcements and the Steam store as checked on October 5, 2026.

Six fixes in Steam's Hotfix 5.00c

The first fix addresses saving. Players could not save or load the game if their Windows Documents folder path contained special characters. That issue has been fixed[1]. The patch notes did not specify which characters count as special characters.

The other five changes address audio, visuals and settings. Dialogue could become much quieter than other sounds after switching between tabs in the pause menu; that has been fixed. Bloom, vegetation lighting, saturation and path-traced lighting in Velen have also been adjusted. Changes that caused severe performance and visual problems for some players with HairWorks enabled have been reverted. The hotfix also fixes marketing telemetry settings not being saved and an issue preventing players from launching Classic (1.32), the version from before Remastered[1].

Patch 5.00b for consoles and Xbox PC

Patch 5.00b fixes an issue that prevented DLSS from working in the PC version obtained through Xbox Play Anywhere. It also adjusts lighting in several locations, including interiors that appeared too dark. Further adjustments bring these versions into line with the PC version[3].

In its Patch 5.00b announcement, the developer said it was investigating issues reported through its technical support portal. It also announced that a hotfix for the PC save issue was in preparation. That fix arrived later the same day as Hotfix 5.00c[1][3].

Back at No. 9 on Steam's most-played chart

Remastered is free for anyone who owns the original game. Even players who own only the base game receive the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions[2]. The game's Steam ranking has also risen sharply. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ranked ninth on Steam's most-played chart for October 4 (UTC), with a peak of 137,724 concurrent players that day. A week earlier, it ranked 91st[4].

On October 5, the Steam store showed 13,176 reviews from the past 30 days, with 79% positive and an overall label of "Mostly Positive"[5]. Steam also notes that it detected a period of review activity unrelated to the game. Reviews posted during that period are excluded from the review score by default[5].

CD PROJEKT RED has not yet announced a schedule for the next patch. If you stopped playing on PC because you could not save after installing Remastered, it is worth trying to save again after downloading Hotfix 5.00c.

Sources

[1] CD PROJEKT RED. Hotfix 5.00c is out now Steam announcement, October 1, 2026.

[2] CD PROJEKT RED. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt: Remastered is available now. Steam announcement, September 29, 2026.

[3] CD PROJEKT RED. Patch 5.00b for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is now live. October 1, 2026.

[4] Valve. Steam most-played games API. Figures for October 4 (UTC). Accessed October 5, 2026.

[5] Valve. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Steam store page (Korea). Accessed October 5, 2026.