Today Larian Studios announced new release dates for Baldur's Gate 3, and PC is getting earlier than expected, while the PS5 version is coming a little later.
The PC version has actually been moved forward by almost a month from August 31 to August 3. On the other hand, the PS5 version will be launched on September 6, which isn't a bad trade-off, at least for fans on PC.Â
We also get a list of details that certainly sounds very interesting, indicating that Baldur's Gate 3 will be a very, very big game.Â
- Containing more dialogue than three times all three Lord of the Rings books combined, the script for Baldur’s Gate 3 contains over 2 million words
- With over 170 hours of cinematics, twice the length of every season of Game of Thrones combined
- 7 playable protagonists each with their own rich stories, personalities, desires, and objectives, as well as a best-in-class Character Creation system for custom characters
- Play as one of 11 playable races & 31 subraces, with multiple body typesÂ
- 12 classes and 46 subclasses, compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s 10 "schools of spells"
- Over 600 spells & actions (excluding upcasts), compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s 225 player spells & actions
The press release that accompanied the announcements came with a comment by creative director Swen Vincke.
We set out to make a game that would reward player creativity and truly bring D&D to life in a cinematic way that explores the breadth and depth RPGs can offer. Baldur’s Gate 3 has become an astronomical game that never fails to surprise, and I’m super proud of the team. We couldn’t have done this without our Early Access community, but it’s crazy to think that all this time they experienced less than a quarter of what BG3 has to offer. I cannot wait to hear the stories our players will tell when the full game releases. It’s time to Gather your Party.
We also hear from director of publishing Michael Douse, who promises that the game reaches 60 FPS on PS5.
We’ve always been a studio that aims to release on as many platforms as possible, in order of readiness. We’ve also aimed for the highest possible quality on every platform we’ve released on. We’re at a point where we’re reaching 60fps on PlayStation 5, which is remarkable considering the breadth and depth Baldur’s Gate 3 aims for. It features over 170 hours of cinematics, more than twice the length of the entirety of Game of Thrones, and more than three times the dialogue of all three Lord of the Rings novels combined. It is a massive, expansive game that truly brings D&D to life, with multiplayer and split-screen co-op, and at a scale that’s roughly 4 times that of our previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2.
Reaching a technical bar that matches our design ambitions felt like the right move, while holding back the PC version when we knew we’d be ready felt like the wrong move in such a busy launch period.
More information about the game will be shared during a livestreamed panel on July 7.
While Baldur's Gate 3 is coming to PC and PS5, Larian has previously mentioned that it isn't exclusive and it may come to Xbox if technical hurdles are cleared. It has been in early access for quite some time on PC. The game, which will bring the Forgotten Realms setting back to video games, was initially partnered with Google Stadia and was supposed to launch on the cloud service before its predictable flop and closure.Â
If you'd like to see more, you can check out the latest trailer and footage from the PC Gaming Show.
