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Can’t wait for Wolfenstein 3? RTCW is getting ray tracing

While all eyes are on a Wolfenstein 3 trailer for the Xbox Bethesda showcase, an AMD engineer is making a cool Return to Castle Wolfenstein ray tracing mod

This shocking mutant would look good with the Return to Castle Wolfenstein ray tracing mod

The Xbox Bethesda showcase is sure to bring some Starfield news please, but many fans (including us) are hoping to finally get a Wolfenstein 3 reveal. Even if it does, it’ll likely still be a long way off, but what might ease the wait is a Return to Castle Wolfenstein ray tracing mod.

The newer Wolfenstein games by Machine Games are fantastic but there’s something really special about 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It’s had plenty of mods in its time – including a recent effort to recreate the lost Enemy Territory single-player expansion – but it’s still looking a bit long in the tooth at this point, despite the overhaul mod released a few years ago.

Well, if Doom can get ray tracing, so can the best Wolfenstein game – and this isn’t coming from a regular fan, either. Dihara Wijetunga is a senior graphics research and development engineer at AMD and they’re creating a Wolf PT mod – no, not that PT, this is a “real-time path tracer” mod with “a custom DX12 backend.”

It’s apparently “still very early in development” but Wijetunga provided a few comparison shots to illustrate the startling difference. The difference between light and dark is even more apparent, with electric bolts lighting up an entire room or low-lit torches creating even darker surroundings. Check it out below.

Obviously, the mod isn’t available yet but is definitely one to keep an eye on

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As for Wolfenstein 3, we haven’t had a new Wolfenstein game since Youngblood in 2019 – so we’re well overdue for an announcement. It may have multiplayer in some form and is “absolutely” coming, but the big question is whether the Indiana Jones game will arrive before Wolfenstein 3.