Witcher 3 Remaster: Low-Poly Pigeons Survive, Fans Relieved

The Witcher 3 Remastered kept its iconic low-polygon pigeons, and fans are thrilled. The remaster also broke the game's Steam concurrent player record.

Ever booted up a remaster and noticed something tiny but off? For Witcher 3 fans, that something was pigeons. When The Witcher 3 Remastered dropped, players feared the beloved low-polygon pigeons had been replaced with fancy new models. But guess what? The OG pigeons are still here, and they're funnier than ever.

Here's the deal: ahead of the remaster's release, updated pigeon models were found in the game, but only for pigeons chilling on the ground. That led to some panic, with one Reddit user posting a comparison of the new ground model and the old flying one, captioned "Gone, but never forgotten." Turns out, it was a false alarm. The Witcher 3 actually uses different pigeon models for flying and grounded birds. So the low-poly pigeon you know and love never left.

Kotaku's Editor-in-Chief Ethan Gach spotted the classic pigeon out in the wild on X/Twitter, confirming the good news. He wrote, "This is a false alarm. Street pigeons have always been different from the ones flying." And honestly, the low-polygon pigeon looks even funnier in the remaster, because the updated lighting highlights just how little detail it has. It's a beautiful disaster.

So while CD Projekt Red polished plenty of graphics, some old assets kept their place. And we're here for it. Hopefully, the low-detail food also made the cut. The Witcher 3 Remastered has only been out a few hours, but it's already breaking records. It smashed the 11-year-old game's peak Steam concurrent player count, and that number is only going up as the weekend approaches.

The remaster is available as a free update on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Whether you're a veteran or a newcomer, there's never been a better time to dive into Geralt's world. And if you need help, there are plenty of guides out there for quests, gear, Gwent, and even romance.

What do you think? Are you glad the low-poly pigeons survived, or were you hoping for an upgrade? Let us know in the comments!