[Updated] The Witcher 3 PS4 & Nintendo Switch 'cloud save fails to download or missing' on PS5; manual saves not working too

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 15, 2023) follows:

The Witcher 3 is one of the most iconic action RPG games in the industry. Its developers have managed to keep it fresh for many years by adding new content and updating it to support more modern platforms.

Recently, The Witcher 3 got the ‘Next-Gen Update’. This update brings notable graphic improvements for both PC and current generation consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series S/X).

However, it seems that the transition from PS4 and Nintendo Switch to PS5 is problematic because the player cloud save fails to download or is missing on the Sony console. Also, manual saves are not working correctly.

According to reports, multiple PS4 and Nintendo Switch players of The Witcher 3 are currently unable to download their ‘cloud save’ files on PS5 to enjoy the Next-Gen Update.

In some cases, they just get a ‘Failed to download cloud save’ error message. Meanwhile, for other players, the cloud save file is missing or unavailable.

Failed to download cloud save PS5

Anyone else getting this issue or know how to address it. Enabled cross progression on my save on the PS4 version, and then tried to download it on PS5, but I keep getting a “Failed to download cloud save” error when I try to do so.
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The problem is reportedly also affecting in the opposite direction. That is, PS5 players are unable to download their ‘cloud save’ files on PS4 or Nintendo Switch.

Cross save from Switch to PS5 doesn’t work

Hello guys, are you able to load save file from Nintendo to PS5. It seems working only from Ps4 > Ps5 and vice versa. Im not able to load from Ps5 to Nintendo neither from Nintendo to Ps5. Is it allowed yet or not? (Im using GoG cloud)
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There is another issue affecting the save system of the game. Some players report that manual saves are not working either.

In addition to the auto-save system, some games allow players to save the progress manually. In this way, they will be totally sure that their progress is not going to be lost.

However, multiple The Witcher 3 players report that none of their previous manual saves are currently loading or working.

Game Not Manually Saving After Update?

Started a new play-through last week with no idea an update was coming – pretty nice surprise today! That being said, I’m playing on PS4 and manual saves don’t seem to be working anymore.

When I go to do a manual save all my previous manual saves have disappeared, and when I go to load, I only have the option to load checkpoints and autosave slots.
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Manual saves glitched?

To explain, I had played some of the update recently, and enjoyed it, but all my previous manual saves were completely gone when I went to save just before stopping. Has anyone else encountered this? I’m playing on ps4 btw.
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Fortunately, players have offered some workarounds that could help fix the issues. The first one is for PS4 owners who want to download their cloud save file on PS5:

According to some gamers, you might experience related issues because you downloaded the PS4 version of the game on your PS5. The fix would be to download the PS5 version separately:

Yes you have ps4 version of the game. New 4.00 version pf the ps4 game. You must download ps5 version separately. It’s also version 4.00.
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For those players whose manual save files are missing, you can try deleting some autosave files in the list:

I disabled the cross-save support and deleted a few autosaves (not all of them) and then I found my manual save.
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There is also a detailed guide on how to transfer PS4 save files to your PS5:

There is no official word on the issue from the dev team yet. We will update this story as events unfold.

04:07 pm (IST): It seems that players’ manual saves (1,2,3) are not functioning properly ever since the recent update. The game says that their progress has been saved but it vanishes when checked later.

However, we have come across a workaround that can help fix the issue temporarily. You can check it out below:

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