Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has revealed that they currently intend to release the game via Steam Early Access on September 30. However, they warn that the game’s debut date is still subject to change.
“The asterisk is optimization,” said Larian CEO Swen Vincke during a recent livestream. “The game is coming out for both PC and Stadia, and we want to get the minimum specs fairly low so that a lot of people can start fooling around with it. Every single time that you optimize something, it’s only then that you discover what the next thing is that you have to optimize. But it’s looking okay, and I’m an optimist by nature and I hope that everything’s gonna work out.”
It certainly sounds like Larian is preparing us for a possible additional delay, but considering that they remained optimistic that the game’s other, recent Early Access delay wouldn’t be for long, it seems fairly likely that we’ll get our hands on some build of the RPG relatively soon.
As for what’s featured in the Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3, it sounds like the early build will be fairly expansive.
The Early Access version of the game will only let you reach Level 4, but Larian estimates that the journey will take you at least 20 hours to complete. Along the way, you’ll participate in 80 combat encounters, enjoy over 45,000 lines of dialog, interact with almost 600 characters, and explore the benefits of over 145 spells and interactions. We’ve seen full games that didn’t boast that much content.
Larian also noted that they plan on adding five Origin characters (pre-constructed character builds with unique backstories in interactions), but it doesn’t seem those characters will be available at launch. When they are released, though, you’ll be able to choose between a Githyanki warrior named Lae’zel, an Elven vampire, a human wizard, a Half-Elf Cleric, and a Human Warlock.
We’ve loved everything that we’ve seen of Baldur’s Gate 3 thus far (which includes an extensive gameplay demo that showcased the game’s many pratfalls and possibilities), and Larian’s history certainly suggests that they’re the right studio to revive one of the greatest RPG franchises ever made.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated regarding whether or not Baldur’s Gate 3 meets that September release date, but it seems like you won’t have to wait too long to begin your own epic adventure in one of PC gaming’s most promising upcoming experiences.