'Baldur's Gate 3' Has A New Release Date, And We Can't Wait

Larian Studios has announced that the in-development Baldur's Gate 3 will go into Early Access on Steam and Google Stadia from September 30th. The hotly anticipated RPG was supposed to launch this month before being delayed several weeks back. The game didn't meet its intended launch, like so many other things, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Larian, players will start Baldur's Gate 3 in Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. A press release reads: "Captive aboard a nautiloid, they take part in a daring escape as the ship jumps between planes of existence, and is caught up in the fury of the eternal, apocalyptic Blood War that rages across the hellscape."

The Early Access version of the game will allow players to explore Avernus, Faerun, and the Underdark. They'll also be able to advance all the way up to level 4. Multiplayer support won't be available immediately after launch, but it's hoped that Larian will be able to roll it out as soon as possible. But what's most exciting is the news that you can recruit an owlbear cub to join your camp. I mean, just look at it.

Larian

"We did Early Access for Original Sin 1 and we liked it a lot because it helped us to make OS1 a better game," Larian creative director Swen Vincke explained of the decision. "We're hoping to get the same out of Early Access for BG3."

Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access will also include five Origin characters: Astarion (Elf/Vampire Rogue), Gale (Human Wizard), Lae'zel (Githyanki Warrior), Shadowheart (Half-Elf Cleric), and Wyll (Human Warlock). There'll also be custom character creation, and even more Origin characters will be revealed throughout the Early Access period.

Larian has also promised that the game's launch will include 80 combat situations, 45,980 lines of English dialogue, 596 NPC characters, and an impressive 146 spells and actions. That's a fair bit of content for Early Access, to be fair.

While Vincke did warn that optimizing the game could lead to one or two unexpected delays, he stressed that the team has "a really good chance of hitting" the date. Bring it on.

Topics: Baldur's Gate 3, Stadia, Steam, PC