Yesterday, Larian Studios surprised many by announcing a PS5 version of its upcoming D&D-based RPG Baldur's Gate 3 but not an Xbox version.
Many companies usually announce console-specific versions during first-party livestreams like yesterday's PlayStation State of Play, but immediately follow up with multiplatform announcements after the show ends.
Larian did not, confirming the message that the only currently-announced version of the game on consoles is for PS5. Yet, studio head Swen Vincke took to Twitter to quickly address the situation, explaining that it isn't a matter of exclusivity and fans should relax.
"Relax. We still aren't playing the exclusivity game."
Director of PR & communications Molly Carroll elaborated on the situation on Twitter, explaining that an Xbox version of the game is indeed being worked on, but there's a perfectly good explanation for the announcement of a PS5 version on its own.
A launch on Xbox day and date with the other versions is still a possibility, but the studio needs to overcome technical issues related particularly to split-screen co-op. The studio prefers being confident in its ability to deliver before announcing a release.
"Thanks for all the hype and enthusiasm following yesterday’s announcement that Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PS5 day and date with PC on August 31st!
Xbox players, we’ve seen your questions about if/when you can expect Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox. We’ve had an Xbox version of Baldur’s Gate 3 in the works for some time, but we have run into some technical issues – particularly with split-screen co-op. We are still working on an Xbox version of BG3, but we’re not yet confident enough to announce it. We don’t like announcing anything until we’re ready, because we don’t want to get peoples hopes up until we’re sure we can deliver.
There’s no platform exclusivity preventing us from releasing BG3 on Xbox day and date, should that be a technical possibility. If and when we do announce further platforms, we want to make sure each version lives up to our standards & expectations. Thanks for understanding!"
For now, Baldur's Gate 3 is coming to PC and PS5 on August 31, 2023, following an extensive early access phase 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.
