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The Witcher 3’s Next-Gen Update: How to Upgrade PS4 Games to PS5 Versions

Geralt of Rivia’s Wild Hunt makes the generational leap.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

You can play most PlayStation 4 games on the PlayStation 5 thanks to the Sony console’s excellent backward compatibility feature. But a few publishers allow you to upgrade PS4 games to the PS5 versions for free. This lets you play with 4K dynamic resolution at 60 frames per second and delivers shorter loading times, making for a smoother gaming experience with less waiting around.

The most recent major title to get the upgrade treatment is the classic 2015 role-playing game The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, which added ray tracing and 60 frames per second performance modes (it’s also available for the Xbox Series X|S and PC versions). This came after developer CD Projekt Red announced a remake of the first game, and before TV prequel spinoff Blood Origin is due to hit Netflix on Dec. 25.

The developer’s other major game, Cyberpunk 2077, got its next-gen update earlier this year after stirring up controversy when it was released in 2020, due to major performance issues.

Getting to next-gen

The PS5 has been going in and out of stock at retailers since it launched in 2020. The digital-only model costs $400, and the one with a disc drive is $500.

Your game upgrades won’t happen automatically or through a typical game update, so it’s easy to accidentally keep playing the PS4 version of a game on your new PS5. You have to go to the game page on the PlayStation Network and choose to upgrade to the PS5 version. That’ll download the extra data needed for the next-gen features.

Read more: PS5 restocks: When to expect the console to appear

You can also upgrade to PS5 versions if you have a physical PS4 game, as long as you bought the PS5 with a disc drive. You’ll always need to use the PS4 disc to play the PS5 version; upgrading doesn’t get you a free digital copy of the game. You’ll still download the PS5 update from the PSN, but you won’t need a PS5-specific disc — your PS4 one will become an authenticator.

If you opted for the digital-only PS5 and have a disc, you’re out of luck. There are a few more limitations and caveats:

  • Some PS5 versions of current PS4 games aren’t out yet.
  • Next-gen versions will be bigger files, so they’ll take up more precious memory on the console’s SSD.
  • You’ll end up with a fresh list of trophies (each version’s list is separate).
  • A few games’ saves won’t transfer, and some require you to upload your save manually from the PS4 version before you can access it on PS5.
  • Some game upgrades are available only in cross-gen bundles or special editions.

First-party policy change

Sony initially said 2022 exclusive Horizon Forbidden West wouldn’t let you upgrade from the PS4 to the PS5 version for free unless you bought the more expensive Digital Deluxe, Collector’s or Regalla Edition. It later reversed course, saying anyone who bought the PS4 version would be entitled to a free PS5 upgrade.

However, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan also confirmed that upgrading future first-party games will come at a price.

«Moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-gen titles (newly releasing on PS4 & PS5)-both digital and physical*-will offer a $10 digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5,» he wrote a blog post. «This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive cross-gen PS4 & PS5 title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.»

Free upgrades you can get now

Some upgrades will require you to pay or buy a specific (more expensive) version of the game:

Technologies

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Technologies

T-Mobile’s Free Premium iPhone 16 Pro Deal Explained. Learn Exactly How It Works

Along with a free iPhone, you can get an extra $800 to pay off your old device.

If you’re starting a new cell phone plan, most major mobile carriers require a multiyear commitment so it’s a big decision you need to consider carefully. First, think about the plan and provider itself: What’s the best coverage in your area and how many lines do you want to add? Next, compare the best mobile phone plan deals to save yourself the most money

T-Mobile has some fantastic deals right now you can take advantage of that make it a pretty competitive pick — especially for Apple fans looking to upgrade.

T-Mobile’s incentives include free lines and streaming services but one huge highlight is the chance to snag the top-rated iPhone 16 Pro free. The language on some of these offers can be a little confusing so we’ve broken down how T-Mobile’s current deals work below. Note that there aren’t any set expirations for these offers so they could vanish at any moment. We wouldn’t wait too long if you’re hoping to take advantage of these savings.

Why these deals matter

You more or less need a phone with reliable coverage these days but costs can add up quickly. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your mobile device or shopping for the best family plans, these T-Mobile deals can help save you some serious cash each month.

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Technologies

iPhone WWDC Wishes: What We Want to See Apple Include in iOS 19

Whether Apple calls it iOS 19 or iOS 26, these are some of the things we hope the tech giant brings to the iPhone next.

Apple is set to hold its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, when the tech giant will show the world what it’s been cooking up during the past year for iOS 19 — or iOS 26 — the software that runs the iPhone. Until then, CNET’s experts have their own ideas about what Apple should bring to the iPhone.

While iOS 18 brought some useful new features to all iPhones, like RCS messaging, and Apple Intelligence to newer iPhones, we’re still taking bets on what Apple will include in iOS 19. Reports suggest Apple is planning a significant redesign of the iPhone OS, changing everything from icons, apps, menus and more. But CNET’s writers and editors have a few ideas we’d like to see in the upcoming OS. Some things we’ve asked for in the past, like customizable lock screen controls, have come to fruition, so maybe we’ll hit the mark again this year.

Here are some of the features and changes we hope Apple includes in the upcoming iOS software. 

Bring split screen to the iPhone

Add a native split screen. It’s been available on Android phones and the iPad for years. But on iOS I still have to run my calculator and budget tracking note in two separate windows. 

— Mike Sorrentino

Start a workout right from my iPhone

I’d like the ability to start an outdoor workout from the Fitness app on my iPhone (like I can do in Strava or Polar). That way if I forget to wear my Apple Watch or I don’t have one, I can still record my workout. The Apple Watch uses heart rate data to calculate move minutes but I don’t see why the iPhone can’t give me credit for an actual workout using other indicators like distance/pace on a run. 

— Vanessa Hand Orellana

No more green bubbles, please

I’m overjoyed Apple added RCS messaging with iOS 18, but I’m going to dream big here: I’d love it if texts with Android users weren’t still green! While it’s great to be able to finally send high-resolution media and see typing indicators with folks who aren’t also using iMessage, it’s still far too easy for iPhone users to scoff at anyone turning their text thread green. End the pettiness once and for all!

— Abrar Al-Heeti

An easier way to manage unused apps

I have more apps on my iPhone than I’ll ever use, after years of installing things to try out and then forgetting about them. Shunting everything into the App Library helps get it out of mind, but that’s the app version of keeping a box of cables you think you might need some day. So I’d like a way to clean up apps, similar to how you can identify large apps in Settings > General > Storage. Let me see when I installed them, the last time I used them and be able to delete the ones I no longer want. I know this sounds fiddly but the thought of going through them all manually is exhausting, so that will never happen.

— Jeff Carlson

Searchable clipboard manager for all your copy and paste needs

I want a clipboard manager in iOS 19. The iPhone has a single copy and paste option, meaning if you copy something, and then copy something else, that first thing you copied is lost. For iOS 19, I’d love to see a searchable clipboard manager, one that has a history of all the things I’ve copied in the last hour, day, week or even month. And if I paste something, I’d like to see multiple options that I can choose from appear right at my fingertip.

— Nelson Aguilar

More customization options for all screens

I want more lock screen, home screen and Control Center customization options, please. I’d like to place my lock screen controls elsewhere on the screen so I don’t accidentally open any control — including, yes, my flashlight. Same thing with the home screen. I appreciate being able to place apps anywhere as long as they are within Apple’s oppressive grid that locks our apps into little boxes. If you have large icons — like I do — there’s an entire empty row at the bottom where it looks like apps or folders can go there but they can’t. Let us breathe the air of freedom, Apple! Please, for the love of everything good, let me move the scroll bar on the right side of the Control Center. I keep hitting it when I open the Control Center and it takes me to a page I don’t intend to be on, which makes it frustrating to use. 

— Zach McAuliffe

Long press, double click and more action button triggers

Now that the Action button is on more iPhones, please add support for triggering different shortcuts with multiple presses. In its current setup, I can set the Action button to trigger one action at a time. By default it can toggle between turning on the ringer and putting your iPhone into silent mode. But there are a number of other options for it like being able to open the Camera app and take a photo or make an elaborate automation in the Shortcuts app like to use it to order coffee from Dunkin’.

But the Action button could do so much more if Apple would add support for multiple input clicks. Like it could be a toggle for ringer/silent mode with a single long press, but do something else (like turn on/off the flashlight) with a double-long press. I think this would add so much functionality to the button and as a result open it up to even more people taking more advantage of it.

— Patrick Holland

Better Log video editing tools

I want iOS 19 to add better editing tools for Log video. The ability to shoot Log footage directly on the iPhone is amazing for enthusiastic filmmakers like me but it can only be edited by transferring it off of your phone to an iPad or MacBook. I’d love to see Apple bring deeper editing tools to be able to add cinematic color grades to your Log footage directly on your iPhone. 

— Andrew Lanxon

Intelligently organize photos by event in the Photos app

Okay, we’re all glad that in iOS 18 Apple improved the Photos search by adding AI image recognition to actually bring up all the images of your cats. It slightly makes up for the questionable revamped layout of photos and albums that confuses me to this day. I’d love it if in iOS 19, the Photos app had a new way to view photos: in a timeline intelligently organized by event. Say you go to the park for a birthday and have a bunch of photos clearly from the same occasion — the app prompts you to confirm they’re all connected, asks for a title and, boom, event logged. Then I could look at a vertical timeline of logged events from the past few months or years, all of which can be searched if I can’t quite remember, say, when I last went to the park. Yes, I can do this manually by making albums, but it’s the kind of fastidious labor I just can’t bring myself to keep up with. That’s what I want AI to do for me. 

— David Lumb

Simple volume controls across the iPhone

Sometimes it’s the small changes that can help make for a smoother experience. I want to see Apple clean up volume controls. If I set the volume to a certain level, I want it to stay at that level for all applications. Sometimes the settings can vary depending on what you’re doing. Too often I come across the problem of lowering my volume to prepare to listen to something — but surprise! — the volume is loud again because I put in headphones and it keeps the louder setting I used the last time I listened to music in my headphones. It just leads to unnecessary frustrations, and makes users feel like they don’t really have control of their devices.

— Bridget Carey

For more on Apple, here’s what to expect from WWDC 2025 and our thoughts on the iPhone 16 Pro and iOS 18 months after their launch. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.

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