Originally launched as a Steam Early Access title back in 2020,Baldur’s Gate 3has slowly but certainly been getting built up for its full release date, and the game’s community had hoped to see a finished build before the end of the year. Unfortunately, the developer, Larian Studios, previously confirmed that this wouldn’t be the case, which came as a disappointment to most gamers.
The latest messaging from Larian Studios, however, is a tad more hopeful, as the team has now issued an official confirmation thatBaldur’s Gate 3is coming out in 2023. To be sure, this isn’t great news for those who want to play the full game as soon as possible, but it does mean that it’s unlikely to get pushed back even further still, which is quite the silver lining.
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Rumblings aboutBaldur’s Gate 3not hitting its 2022 releasetarget aren’t a new thing, but Larian Studios wasn’t ready to commit to the idea of a postponed release up until now. The wording is now clear, however, as the information was shared as part of the studio’s official D&D Direct video featurette. Larian also took the opportunity to acknowledge both those players who had already joined the game’s Early Access period and those who are waiting forBaldur’s Gate 3’s full launch, inviting everyone to “come along in 2023 when the game releases.”
Keeping the above in mind, even thoughBaldur’s Gate 3isn’t leaving early access soon, it’s still in a good place, development-wise. The game is receiving large, substantial patches at a regular pace, and early adopters get to share their feedback on the game’s systems, features, and content with Larian directly, which assists in speeding up hotfix delivery and balance passes. By the time 2023 is here,Baldur’s Gate 3should be a very polished RPG experience, given the developer’s track record.
In fact, the previousmajor update forBaldur’s Gate 3added Barbariansas a viable character class, opening up an extremely wide variety of new build options and functionality. Many more of these classes are expected before all is said and done, as Larian Studios seems to be hoping to cover virtually every majorDungeons & Dragonscharacter trope to some extent.
As for the narrative development, however, that’s an entirely different proposition.Theories about the story ofBaldur’s Gate 3are numerous indeed, and since Larian is deliberately limiting the scope and width of available Early Access content, most players shouldn’t have everything spoiled to them ahead of time. The full narrative won’t be available before the full launch, after all, and 2023 is still a bit far out.
Baldur’s Gate 3is now available for purchase on PC and Stadia as an Early Access release.
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