After more than two years of Early Access testing, Baldur’s Gate 3 will finally get a full version release date. The 2022 Game Awards saw developer Larian Studios announce that the game will exit the Early Access period in August 2023.
Check out the latest Baldur’s Gate 3 trailer below, which shows the release date window.
The newest trailer focuses on the story, where the player’s character is infected with a “Mind Flayer tadpole,” a parasite used by the Illithid, an extradimensional race of squid-faced predators. The player travels to and from Baldur’s Gate, the legendary city of the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms setting, encountering allies and enemies. Characters from previous Baldur’s Gate titles like Jaheira and Minsc also appear.
Baldur’s Gate 3 first entered Early Access in 2020. The first two games, released in 1998 and 2000, were developed by BioWare and Black Isle Studios. Overhaul Games rereleased the series in 2012 and 2013 as Enhanced Editions, featuring new content, characters, and user interfaces. The Enhanced Edition even got an entirely new expansion, Siege of Dragonspear. BG3 was developed by Larian Studios, developers of the Divinity series. Its mechanics take partial inspiration from the Divinity: Original Sin titles by adding more cooperative multiplayer elements and a fully turn-based combat system derived from the 5th Edition D&D rules (rather than the original games’ “real-time with pause” mechanics).
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on PC via Steam Early Access, and its release date will fall in August 2023. The official website includes a Collector’s Edition physical bundle that includes a statue, art book, cloth map, character sheets, a custom metal D20 dice, and Magic: The Gathering booster pack. Check out Siliconera’s preview from its first days in Early Access.
