Baldur’s Gate 3, which only just came out on the PC, has been generating a lot of chatter online lately. Most are positive, as Larian Studios’ latest outing has drawn much praise and filled the hole left by Diablo 4’s disappointing first season. But, as the developers work hard to prepare the same game for its launch on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series S/X community, who are feeling left out, can’t help but wonder when the game will debut on their platform.
Larian Studios previously stated that fans shouldn’t expect Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Xbox Series S/X until at least next year as a result of Microsoft’s insistence on performance parity between the Xbox Series S and the much more powerful, Xbox Series X.
Now, Thomas Puha, Communications Director over at Remedy Entertainment, has chimed in to express his empathy for a fellow developer’s plight, but in a way that might have been worded better.
I feel Larian's pain on Series S. Its not about "just optimize at the end" LOL. Naaah. You have to take into account the technical limitations from the beginning of development. Nobody really wants to think of that when you start making your game, when everything is possible
— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) August 2, 2023
In his statement, Puha acknowledges that developers might not foreesee or adequately address technical constraints at the start of the development process, which he describes as a period when “everything is possible.” His statements also shine a light on a critical issue affecting current-generation developers – the inherent differences between console platforms and the challenges that come with optimizing games for each.
The cause of the current predicament is the lack of sufficient memory on the Xbox Series S and how it hampers the split-screen mode’s performance on the console. The split-screen mode, an integral part of the Baldur’s Gate 3 experience, is proving a formidable hurdle to clear for the developers. Their commitment to maintaining this feature, coupled with the policy of Microsoft of necessitating releases on both Xbox Series X and S consoles, has culminated in the current conundrum.
But, you may ask, isn’t this the same problem developers face and solve when making a game for PCs?
According to Luha, the process of scaling games like Baldur’s Gate 3 for the Xbox Series S/X in the same way as desktops “just isn’t that easy”, citing a “multitude of reasons.”
We can only presume that one of these tasks is maintaining a consistent frame rate. Ensuring a game consistently runs at 60 FPS is no mean feat – it requires constant monitoring and concerted effort from the entire team from the outset, something Puha rightly emphasized.
We can’t help but question if this is the same reason why Starfield is locked at 30 FPS on consoles.
In any case, Baldur’s Gate 3’s predicament might lie solely with the available RAM on the Xbox Series S. In comparison, Valve’s portable PC, the Steam Deck, can run Baldur’s Gate 3 just fine albeit with concessions. The difference between these two, among others, is that the Steam Deck has a robust 16GB RAM at its disposal and it’s targeting a much lower resolution (1280 x 800 compared to 1080p and/or 1440p for the Xbox Series S).
With measly 10GB RAM available and only 2GB reserved for the operating system, it’s no wonder Larian wants more time. It’s also worth pointing to a similar incident last year when a developer called out the Xbox Series S for its “potato gpu.”
While the current state of affairs might appear daunting for Baldur’s Gate 3 and its developers, a silver lining shines through from Remedy’s camp. Puha confidently reassures fans that despite facing similar technical difficulties with the upcoming Alan Wake 2, Remedy is wholly committed to delivering a “true next-gen experience,” saying that their recent showcase of the game held up to their initial promise “pretty well.”
Although Baldur’s Gate 3’s journey towards an Xbox release has been filled with technical challenges, the ordeal has brought forward an insightful discussion about game development in the current generation of consoles. The game’s Xbox release date remains under wraps, yet anticipation remains high. And as is often the case with ambitious games, the wait is part and parcel of the journey.
