it seems to yes:
http://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/the-witcher-3-gameplay-reveal-2013-trailer-versus-2015-build-comparison-shows-downgraded-visuals/


http://i.imgur.com/gQybtzD.png
http://i.imgur.com/QcOH0nT.png
http://i.imgur.com/admvLGj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JjyfctD.png
http://i.imgur.com/c4DUx7k.jpg



sad......

gods, this is getting so old...

just god damn f*cking wait until you have played it.

We will see in a couple days anyway, why the scaremongering?

Its not downgraded the comparisons they made are stupid and dont apply in this universe. srsly ppl need to stop that shit comparing with no data on platform or settings... ignore those bullshit sites that just make stupid screenshots and say omg thats not the same fuckin op bush and wall and shit... fuckin no life trolls#

ffs! Can we stop with the hateful post and wait to release to give a valid criticism (if it is truly deserved).

There are downgrade? we don't know for sure, only people comparing a lot of different videos and pictures in internet when there isn't information of the builds (system, settings, frames, compression, etc.) of those videos and pictures.

If there is one, well, CDPR will have to respond sooner than later, and if there isn't a lot of people will have to eat their words.

Cheers!

Don't buy the game then...

+1 It's sstill not confirmed info what requirements and platform those screenshots are from.

I just hope PC players will be able to manually tweak some config settings and force a longer draw distance than we've seen in recent footage. Hopefully also fix the lighting on grass. Basically, we should be able to match the VGX trailer in-game-footage on our systems. Of course CDPR only tells the truth, so there is nothing to worry about. They wouldn't want thousands of angry fans tearing them down online post release over bullshit downgrading so consoles can keep up. They would NEVER do that :)

I really don't understand why people get so hung up on this. It's just graphics. Yes, I said it.

It's frustrating when graphics get downgraded, don't get me wrong. But there are limitations being enforced on them, whether it's to have the game with decent system requirements, or due to size of the eventual game, or any other logical reason.
Also, judging what the game would look like based on preview screenshots or gameplay clips is quite silly. I'm sure the game would look AMAZING.
Also, in my opinion, graphics aren't the most important thing. I'd rather have awesome gameplay, sound, and atmosphere over "omg lookz itz da best texture quality evah"
I trust the developers of this specific company that if they did that, they had a reason. They're not the type of guys to hide from their player base.

The assets and settings obviously existed, because they showed them in-game. They could leave them in for people who want to play with them. Toggle settings basically. Look at Witcher 2, it had a whole slew of settings for everything from draw distance to textures to model fidelity and more. It would be a kick in the face if they suddenly limited the maximum capability of the PC version to that of console quality. They always maintained, or at least initially they did, that they developed for PC first.They should have stuck with that and then simply cut corners where necessary for the console versions.

But we will see very soon. Reviews are due any day now, and they will most likely have interesting things to say.
All I know is that a company is only worth as much as its good will, minus the ignorant masses who could care less about such things :)
Witcher 3 will sell, but how we're treated this time will set the tone for sales of their next game, no doubt. Any future trailers, if we're let down this time, will be met with utmost skepticism and it will be a PR nightmare to manage all the shit thrown in their direction from various forums and Internet personalities. People still remember Ubisoft and mention them at any given opportunity as lying bastards, so I sincerely hope CDPR will avoid that fate due to the game living up to expectations.

Have they ever replied to the downgrade claims ?

Also, I know it will be a PR nightmare for them, but atleast, not from me. As I've said, I trust CDPR to make the right decisions, with the right reasons. I don't know much about hardware or software, but I'd imagine developing a game of this magnitude may affect how it looks. Maybe they really did plan for it to have such beautiful graphics, but ended up thinking "We'd rather spend more time on a larger game than have a smaller game that looks pretty". I guess these extremely high quality graphics take a long time to develop, and I'd rather play it in 10 days than wait longer for better graphics, which would probably not run very well on a very large portion of their player base, or maybe it's just my machine [i5-4690k, R9 280] :p

On the other CDPR forums for the Witcher, the community manager replied that the game could match VGX footage. I hope that holds true.

I won't speculate as to their reasons for a possible downgrade, since we don't truly know until the game is in hand. But I do know I'm disappointed with all the cheap fog in the distance to limit draw distance in more recent footage :) I want to be able to disable that. The Witcher 2 had that and it looked gorgeous otherwise, but c'mon we're a few years down the road. Surely things have come a ways since then. *crossing fingers*

Alpha footage does not = final build.

So yeah. Downgrade is real. Its pretty much akin to the whole Dark Souls 2 footage difference except here the game still looks damn good in comparison.

Might as well get used to it. If not...then color me surprised and giddy.

Please relax about the graphics. We are fortunate just to be able to play the game on pcs with the plethora of mods that will be available. There comes a time when the graphics are good enough no matter what because the overall game (including story and mechanics) is that good as a whole.