While there have been many “expected hits” of 2023 in the gaming space, there have been a few that took the world by surprise, and now people can’t get enough of it. Easily, the best example of this is Baldur’s Gate 3. The RPG from Larian Studios had been on Steam Early Access for years, working out the various bugs in its system before launching in full to great results. It was even the highest-rated game of 2023 upon its launch! However, regarding its launch, it’s had what you might call a “staggered release.” It first came out on PC and then to PS5 after a little bit. But as for Xbox Series X/S gamers, they’re still waiting for it.
Now, on the bright side, Larian Studios said that the game would arrive this year for the console. To that end, CEO Swen Vincke went onto Twitter and reaffirmed that this was still the plan and they were getting closer to that release date as they were playtesting it right now:
So, while there isn’t a release date yet, it’s still likely to arrive in the next two months before 2023 ends. It might even be a good Christmas gift for gamers to get themselves or others, depending on their desire.
But why is the Xbox Series X/S version taking so long, considering it’s already out on PS5 and PC? The answer is the “requirements” that Xbox developers must match to get their games out on the system. As Larian previously noted, they have to have split-screen co-op on both the X and S versions of the system, and that has been proving difficult. They pointed that out in past interviews, but Xbox’s Phil Spencer fired back and noted that it “wasn’t a requirement” but that they didn’t want the Xbox Series X to not have games that the Xbox Series X had in full.
Let’s also remember that Microsoft didn’t think that Baldur’s Gate 3 would do that well and thus didn’t push for it to be on their system or Xbox Game Pass like they did other titles that came out this year.
Regardless, the Larian Studios title has done incredibly well, and fans want more. The team has been working hard since launch to do more with the game, including fixing things that fans did have issues with, such as the endings with certain characters. Or, in one weird case, the look a cat had.
