Baldur's Gate III

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
Genre: RPG/Strategy
Developer: Larian Studios
Release Date: Aug. 3, 2023

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'Baldur's Gate III' Launches Almost A Month Early On PC, A Week Late On PS5, Reveals Game Details

by Rainier on June 29, 2023 @ 8:32 a.m. PDT

Baldur's Gate III is the official next adventure in the venerable Baldur's Gate series.

You are burdened with a great power devouring you from within.
How far down the path of darkness will you let it take you?
The fate of Faerûn is on your party’s shoulders.
Will you carry it to salvation, or descend with it to hell?

Created in close collaboration with the Dungeons & Dragons team at Wizards of the Coast, Baldur’s Gate III is based off current D&D mechanics and spells and is the official new chapter in the legendary series.

Baldur’s Gate III will push the boundaries of the RPG genre and offer a rich narrative with unparalleled player freedom, high-stakes decisions, unique companion characters and memorable combat. It is Larian Studios’ biggest production ever and will be playable together with friends or as a single-player adventure.

Alone you may resist, but together you can overcome. Gather your party.

Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine and coming to early access later this year, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that truly reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before as you venture through the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons in Larian’s biggest adventure yet.

Larian Studios revealed that Baldur’s Gate 3 will release on August 3 on PC – almost a month early – and September 6 on PlayStation 5, just a week later than its previously announced release date of August 31.

“We’ve always been a studio that aims to release on as many platforms as possible, in order of readiness. We’ve also aimed for the highest possible quality on every platform we’ve released on. We’re at a point where we’re reaching 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, which is remarkable considering the breadth and depth Baldur’s Gate 3 aims for. It features over 170 hours of cinematics, more than twice the length of the entirety of Game of Thrones, and more than three times the dialogue of all three Lord of the Rings novels combined. It is a massive, expansive game that truly brings D&D to life, with multiplayer and split-screen co-op, and at a scale that’s roughly four times that of our previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2,” said Director of Publishing Michael Douse.

“Reaching a technical bar that matches our design ambitions felt like the right move, while holding back the PC version when we knew we’d be ready felt like the wrong move in such a busy launch period,” added Douse.

In a feature-filled Community Update, Larian reveals many long-awaited details about the content of Baldur’s Gate 3 – from which D&D races and classes will appear in the game, to new playable characters and companions, to a wide array of new character customization options – as well as some staggering statistics about the RPG’s scope.

Larian has pulled these stats to put the scale of Baldur’s Gate 3 into perspective:

  • Containing more dialogue than three times all three Lord of the Rings books combined, the script for Baldur’s Gate 3 contains over 2 million words
  • With over 170 hours of cinematicstwice the length of every season of Game of Thrones combined
  • Seven playable protagonists, each with their own rich stories, personalities, desires, and objectives, as well as a best-in-class character creation system for custom characters
  • Play as one of 11 playable races and 31 subraces, with multiple body types
  • 12 classes and 46 subclasses, compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s 10 "schools of spells"
  • Over 600 spells and actions (excluding upcasts), compared to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s 225 player spells and actions

“We set out to make a game that would reward player creativity and truly bring D&D to life in a cinematic way that explores the breadth and depth RPGs can offer. Baldur’s Gate 3 has become an astronomical game that never fails to surprise, and I’m super proud of the team. We couldn’t have done this without our early access community, but it’s crazy to think that all this time they experienced less than a quarter of what BG3 has to offer. I cannot wait to hear the stories our players will tell when the full game releases. It’s time to gather your party!” said CEO and Creative Director Swen Vincke.

Larian will finally explore the full scope of their sprawling RPG on July 7 during the Panel From Hell: Release Showcase live show.

Gather your party for a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Abducted, infected, lost... You are turning into a monster, drawn from a Mind Flayer parasite planted in your brain, but as the corruption inside you grows, so too does your power. That power may help you to survive, but there will be a price to pay. More than any ability, the bonds of trust that you build within your party could be your greatest strength. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms together. Resist and turn darkness against itself — or embrace corruption and become the ultimate evil.

Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Play alone, selecting your companions carefully, or as a party of up to four in online multiplayer.

No two adventures will ever be the same. The Forgotten Realms are a vast, detailed and diverse world, and there are secrets to be discovered all around you -- even verticality is a vital part of exploration. Adventure, loot, battle, romance… how you survive, and the mark you leave on the world, is up to you.

Key Features

  • Online multiplayer for up to four players allows you to combine your forces in combat and split your party to follow your own quests and agendas. Devise the perfect plan together… or introduce an element of chaos when your friends least expect it.
  • Origin characters offer a hand-crafted experience, each with their own unique traits, agenda, and outlook on the world. Their stories intersect with the wider narrative, and your choices will determine whether those stories end in redemption, salvation, domination or other outcomes.
  • Evolved turn-based combat based on the D&D 5E ruleset. Team-based initiative, advantage and disadvantage, and roll modifiers join combat cameras, expanded environmental interactions, and a new fluidity in combat that rewards strategy and foresight.
  • Define the future of the Forgotten Realms through your choices and the roll of the dice. No matter who you play or what you roll, the world and its inhabitants will react to your story.
  • Player-initiated turn-based mode allows you to pause the world around you at any time even outside of combat. See an opportunity for a tactical advantage before combat begins? Want to pull off a heist with pin-point precision? Need to escape a fiendish trap? Split your party, prepare ambushes, sneak in the darkness — and create your own luck!

Baldur’s Gate III is coming to PC on August 3rd, followed by PS5 on September 6, 2023.


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