How to fix The Witcher 3 Steam overlay not working

CD Projekt Red has created one of the most beautiful action RPGs in gaming history. And even though The Witcher 3 came out about seven years ago, it is still incredibly popular. To extend the life of the game, the developers have released a next-gen update, but it's not without its issues. Since it's not working for everyone, we're here to answer how to fix The Witcher 3 Steam overlay not working.

A lot of players have reported issues since the update's launch on PC, including broken overlays, so we've got tips to get things working as they should be again.

And while you are here, make sure to check our guide on how to transfer save data in The Witcher 3 next-gen. Also, we have a list of the best mods for The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 Steam overlay not working explained

Since the release of the update, players cannot see how low their FPS drops when playing the next-gen version.

At the time of writing this guide, the exact cause of this bug is not known, but it may be a problem caused by the optimisation of DX12. Our assumptions are based on the fact that one way to fix a non-working Steam overlay is switching from DX12 to DX11, which sees everything works fine.

How to fix Steam overlay not working in The Witcher 3

Credit: Source:Reddit Megane Senpai

So, there are two ways to fix this annoying error. The first is simple, while the second is more complicated and maybe a little dangerous. Let's start with an easy one.

Switch the game to DX11. And even though it looks like a very simple solution, it has helped many players. As soon as they switched from the badly optimised DX12 to DX11, the Steam overlay started working. Moreover, the optimisation of the game has improved significantly. But if this did not help you, you can move on to the second option.

You must open the Witcher 3 folder and find the x64_dx12 folder, which you can do this through the Steam library. Your path should look like this:

• The Witcher 3\bin\x64_dx12

And in this folder, you should find one file called d3d11on12.dll. It supposedly works with commands between DX12 and DX11. But more importantly, any action on this file brings back working overlays into the game.

You can delete this file, move it, or rename it and you will fix the bug. However, we recommend you create a new folder in the x64_dx12 folder, which will act as a backup. Move the d3d11on12.dll file there if you are afraid of breaking something in the game. It is worth noting that so far no player has reported any problems in the game after deleting this file, but it's always better not to risk it.

That's all you need to know about how to fix The Witcher 3 Steam overlay not working. It is a rather annoying bug that prevents players from enjoying the game comfortably. Therefore, use our guide to get rid of it. And while you are still here, make sure to check our guide on how to fix The Witcher 3 script compilation errors.