Skip to main content

Nvidia releases game-ready driver for The Witcher 3

To coordinate with the upcoming launch of The Witcher 3, Nvidia announced on May 18 that it has released a new game-ready driver. This edition is designed to enhance performance when HairWorks or other graphic additions are in use.

Driver Version 352.86 works with the GeForce 400, 500, 600, 700 and 900 Series. Version 352.86 can be applied to desktops or notebooks that have Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. On desktops, it functions with Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003 platforms as well. As of May 18, it can be downloaded for free on the GeForce website.

Recommended Videos

The Witcher 3 will be released on May 19 for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One. The game takes approximately 70 hours to beat, and it includes up to 200 hours of gameplay, according to Forbes.

However, The Witcher 3 isn’t the only game that Nvidia has focused on as of late. The driver release will also address viewpoint problems associated with Grand Theft Auto 5, as well as texture shimmering in World of Warcraft.

On May 15, Nvidia updated its blog to announce that Windows Hardware Qualification Lab certification has arrived for its DirectX 12 drivers on Windows 10. In the future, this could reduce bugs that users face following the initial launch of a game.

“Next to the operating system, the graphics driver is one of the most complex pieces of code on a PC,” the company wrote. “We worked closely with Microsoft to develop the new DX12 standard. And that effort has paid off with day-one WHQL certification.”

Nvidia went on to say that its engineers continue to work closely with Microsoft. This could be critical for the company as more games use DirectX 12 API.

Krystle Vermes
Krystle Vermes is a professional writer, blogger and podcaster with a background in both online and print journalism. Her…
The best trailers from The Game Awards 2024: Witcher 4, Intergalactic, and more
Ciri in The Witcher 4.

The Game Awards 2024 took place Thursday night, and it was very entertaining. Host Geoff Keighley invited several high-profile game developers and publishers to announce their new games there. In turn, plenty of stunning announcement trailers aired during the event, from the purely cinematic to ones that used those pretty cinematics to draw people in before showing off gameplay. If you didn't tune into The Game Awards 2024 live, but are wondering which trailers from it you should check out, we recommend watching the seven following trailers from the event, listed in order of appearance during the show.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound | Reveal trailer | Coming Summer 2025

From Shadow Labyrinth to Rematch, The Game Awards 2024's Opening Act was full of surprise announcements. None shocked me more (or had a better trailer) than the game that kicked the night off. That would be Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a 2D platformer revival of an iconic Koei Tecmo series. As the first trailer of the night, it had great pacing. It slowly teases the lauded studios involved in the project before cutting to a beautiful cinematic reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden, with that connection finally being confirmed once you see Ryu Hayabusa. Not long after that, we get a brief look at some gameplay, which I always appreciate in a reveal trailer, before the title and release date are confirmed. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound started The Game Awards 2024 on a high note, and the show kept up the momentum from there.
The Witcher IV
The Witcher IV — Cinematic Reveal Trailer | The Game Awards 2024

Read more
Intel Arc B580 vs. Nvidia RTX 4060: a one-sided showdown
The back of the Intel Arc B580 graphics card.

Intel is back with one of the best graphics cards you can buy -- the Arc B580. As you can read in my Intel Arc B580 review, it's a graphics card that has no business being as powerful as it is given how inexpensive it is. And when comparing it to its main competitor, Nvidia's RTX 4060, Intel mops the floor with its rival.

I've been testing Intel's latest GPU over the last couple of weeks, and I decided to put it head-to-head with Nvidia's budget RTX 4060, which is currently the second-most-popular GPU on Steam. Given the performance I've seen, Intel's GPU deserves to start climbing up the rankings in those same charts.
Specs and pricing

Read more
The hype is real: Nvidia finally teases the RTX 50-series
A PC with some loot boxes on a desk. Marketing material for the RTX 50-series.

It's finally happening. Nvidia has just teased the upcoming RTX 50-series in a major way, with a full-on fan event leading up to the official announcement in January. Under the banner of #GeForceGreats, Nvidia is celebrating some of its best graphics cards, but it's already looking to the future. Here's what's happening and how to get involved.

After a long stretch of silence, the Nvidia GeForce social media accounts posted updates about GeForce at CES 2025, inviting fans to watch the keynote on January 6, 2025. We already knew about the keynote, but this is the first official confirmation that it won't be all about Nvidia's data center business -- we're definitely getting updates on next-gen gaming GPUs, too.

Read more