Baldur’s Gate 3’s release date just got delayed and moved up at the same time

By Tomas Franzese June 29, 2023

The PC and PS5 versions of Baldur’s Gate 3 have gotten new release dates, leading to a weird situation where the game’s launch has been moved up and delayed at the same time.

Originally announced for Google Stadia in 2019, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a successor to BioWare’s classic Dungeons & Dragons RPG franchise and has been in early access on PC since October 2020. Its 1.0 PC release, as well as a PS5 port, were confirmed to launch on August 31 earlier this year, but that is no longer the case. In the latest community update, developer Larian Studios confirmed that Baldur’s Gate 3 launches for PC on August 3 and for PS5 on September 6.

Larian admits that “this means the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released at a time where you’ll have more time to play it,” moving its launch away from late August and early September heavy hitters like Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Starfield. And now, the new PS5 release date for Baldur’s Gate 3 gives PlayStation players a console-exclusive RPG of their own (albeit a temporary one) on the day Starfield comes out.

New release date key art for Baldur's Gate 3 — Larian Studios

Still, the September 6 date is technically a delay, which Larian also explained its reasoning behind in the community update. “Baldur’s Gate 3 is targeting 60 frames-per-second, and we’re close to achieving that on the platform but need a bit more extra time,” it explained. “We don’t want to compromise on quality and feel it would be a shame to downscale to 30 fps or make other compromises to hit an arbitrary date. We understand that folks may be disappointed with this, but we’re close enough to reaching new heights for RPGs on the system that the benefits of a short delay outweigh the downsides of rushing the PS5 release and having to downscale.”

So to clarify, Baldur’s Gate 3 first launches on PC across Steam, GOG, and Nvidia GeForce Now on August 3. Then, a PS5 port comes out on September 6. Larian Studios also confirms that a Mac version is in the works and that it’s “optimistic” about Xbox works once it works through the kinks of getting it to run well on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Gaming Staff Writer

Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

Will there be DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3?

A group of four adventures stands on the ends of a cliff in Baldur's Gate 3.

Having come out on both PC and PlayStation, with Xbox said to arrive in the near future, adventurers have already dumped hundreds of hours in Baldur’s Gate 3. This unexpected hit for the CRPG genre is as deep as it is long, and yet some have already managed to plow through all three of the game's acts. Despite there being tons of ways to experiment and replay using all the different Races and Classes, people are already getting hungry for more. In the modern age, DLC for massive hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost a sure thing, and yet this game is by no means normal. From its long early access period to the sheer amount of dynamic and reactive ways to interact with the world, this is a very unique product. That has left many to question whether or not there will ever be any DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3.
Is Baldur's Gate 3 getting DLC?

At the time of writing, there are no concrete plans for DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3, but that doesn't mean it isn't in the cards. The latest update Larian has given on any potential future expansions came from an IGN interview with Product Manager Tom Butler during Gamescom 2023. He stated "We'll carry on patching for a while and then we're all going to take a holiday and then we'll figure out what we do next. But at the moment, we genuinely have discussions. We want to do more. We don't know what yet." No doubt the team deserves a break after the years of work put into Baldur’s Gate 3, and while fans will be somewhat disappointed to know nothing beyond fixes and updates are in the works as of now, you can at least know that it is being talked about.

Gaming

How to change your appearance in Baldur’s Gate 3

A party of four adventures walking through a mushroom forest in the Underdark

Making your character can take a long time if you really want to get all the details right. From your race, class, hairstyle, and more, you have a lot of options to tweak before ever starting your adventure. If you're a little too excited, you might end up slacking off on making your character and assuming you can update it later just so you can get right into the action. If so, or you simply want to change up your look after a couple of hours into this massive game, you'll be at a loss as to how, if you even can, change your appearance in Baldur's Gate 3. You may not fully like the answer, but here's the best you can do in terms of altering your appearance after you've exited the character creator.
Can you change your appearance in Baldur's Gate 3?

The answer to this is technically yes, but not in the way you would hope. To get it out of the way, no, there's no way to return to the character creation screen after you've finalized your character. Unlike respeccing your character, there's no NPC, item, or magic mirror anywhere in The Forgotten Realms that will let you change your appearance.

Gaming

Is Baldur’s Gate 3 cross-platform?

A Baldur's Gate 3 character lights the way.

The biggest CRPG of the year, if not ever, promises a huge adventure that you are encouraged to play cooperatively with up to four friends. While online play is expected in the modern era, Baldur's Gate 3 surprisingly also supports split-screen co-op on every PC and PS5 as well, meaning you can run an entire campaign with a friend side-by-side. As great as all that is, the vast majority of people will likely want to play with a friend in the comfort of their own homes, which might mean a PC player and a PS5 player will want to team up. Is that possible in Baldur's Gate 3? Here's a quick rundown of this game's cross-platform support.
Is Baldur's Gate 3 cross-platform?

In short, no, Baldur's Gate 3 will not allow for cross-platform play. If you are playing on PC, then anyone you want to play online with will also need to be on PC, and the same is true for PS5. While this is true for now, it is possible that Larian Studios may add cross-platform play in a future update, but for now, it is safer to assume it won't come and make your purchasing decision accordingly.