RPG heavyweights Larian Studios just debuted the full version of Baldur's Gate 3 at Sony's PlayStation event, and there was one version missing from the presentation.
Heading to Mac, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5, Baldur's Gate 3 is a long-awaited sequel to the legendary franchise that has remained one of the genre's most influential. Now stewarded by the similarly legendary Larian, whose recent successes with Divinity Original Sin II made them an obvious candidate to take the reins here, Baldur's Gate 3 is now set to launch on August 31, 2023. However, Xbox fans were puzzled by one quite clear omission — what about Xbox Series X|S?
Many Xbox customers who are used to Sony's pervasive exclusivity deals immediately assumed that once again, PlayStation had pulled a fast one over Microsoft, landing temporary or permanent exclusivity rights to the platform. A flurry of speculation followed, especially since Larian previously commented that it wasn't interested in playing favorites with platforms in a previous interview. I'd wondered if perhaps it was a full-blown exclusivity deal with PlayStation, or whether the developer just thought Xbox was not going to be a profitable platform to port the game to. But now, we have a definitive answer from Larian Studios itself.
A note on Baldur's Gate 3 for Xbox from r/BaldursGate3
Speaking on reddit, Larian stated that there is indeed an Xbox version in development, but it's currently being held back by technical issues. Rather than delay the PlayStation 5 version to accommodate the Xbox version, Larian is (quite rightfully, in my view) going ahead with a launch as soon as possible to get the game into as many hands as possible.
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.
Larian noted that Baldur's Gate 3 will be revealed for Xbox when the studio is confident that the version is living up to its expectations, noting issues implementing Baldur's Gate 3's split-screen co-op functionality on Xbox systems. Indeed, Baldur's Gate 3 is a visual and technical leap from the firm's previous titles, and as such, is hitting next-gen systems only.
To speculate, some have wondered if the Xbox Series S might be partially to blame. As we head further into the generation, increasingly, we're seeing the Xbox Series S versions of games struggle to keep pace with their more visually impressive PS5 and Xbox Series X cousins. Wild Hearts for example is borderline unplayable on Xbox Series S right now, although a patch is coming to address the issues soon.
Either way, it seems that Larian stayed true to its word over Baldur's Gate 3's multiplatform future. When it drops, it may end up being a candidate for various best Xbox games and best PC game of the year lists.
You can grab Baldur's Gate 3 right now on Steam in early access.
