Baldur’s Gate 3 is the frontrunner for the Game of the Year award. Thus, wouldn’t it be fitting if it becomes available on Xbox on or before December 7, the schedule for this year’s The Game Awards? If we believe the rumors, this is what the developers, Larian Studios, has planned for the award-winning Dungeons and Dragons title.
According to an exclusive report by eXputer, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be available to play on Xbox Series S/X on December 6, which comes just days after Larian Studios’ CEO, Swen Vincke, reassured fans that it’s still in the works.
Naturally, the millions of Xbox owners couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect of finally playing one of the year’s most talked-about games this year. The expectations for its Xbox release are sky-high following its stellar commercial and critical performance on PC and PS5, where it received critical acclaim for its writing, characters, combat, and overall presentation. Baldur’s Gate 3’s popularity is so profound that it remains one of the most popular games on Steam and other platforms, raising the bar for RPGs for years to come.
News to me https://t.co/ktaQ4sfuvR
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) November 5, 2023
However, a twist in the narrative emerged when Michael Douse, Larian Studios’ Director of Publishing, responded with an unequivocal “News to me,” casting doubt on the rumored release date. He reiterated the studio’s commitment to a polished version of the game, worthy of the Xbox fanbase, and confirmed that while the game is expected to release before the year’s end, the date will only be set once the team is fully confident in the release version.
Further complicating the situation was the technical challenge of implementing split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S, which led to a delay in the game’s release. Larian Studios and Microsoft had to navigate the parity rule, which ensures a uniformity in performance between the Series S and X versions of the game. After negotiations, the two eventually had an agreement to exclude split-screen from the Xbox Series S version, allowing the game to proceed to release this year. However, this decision has not been met positively. While dropping split-screen support on the Series S is a reasonable compromise for a stable release, many believe that it highlights Microsoft’s problematic decision-making by releasing a pared-down version of its flagship console.
Keep in mind, studios like Warner Bros. Montreal and Remedy Entertainment have spoken out against the Xbox Series S, even if the latter was able to make Alan Wake 2 work surprisingly well on the weaker platform.
The good news is that Larian hasn’t completely closed the doors on bringing split-screen co-op to the Xbox Series S. It’s simply a necessary means to expedite the game’s availability on Xbox. In the future, it’s possible Larian might find a way to make it work on both Xbox Series S and X.
For now though, what’s clear is that Larian is too busy porting Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox to give it a release date. Will it be available by December 6? Probably not. But, it wouldn’t surprise us if the announcement is made at The Game Awards on December 7.
