Larian Studios’ game, which has been in early access for over two and a half years, has adjusted its release dates due to Bethesda Game Studios’ upcoming Xbox exclusive.

Baldur’s Gate III has been available on Steamen and GOGon  in early access since October 6, 2020. Previously, the Belgian studio had planned to release the game on PC and PlayStation 5 on August 31. The game has three times the dialogue of the three Lord of the Rings books combined (over 2 million words) and over 170 hours of scenes, double the total of all Game of Thrones episodes. There will be seven playable characters with different stories, personalities, goals, missions, and character creation (11 races, 31 sub-races, multiple body types; 12 classes, 46 sub-classes; Divinity: Original Sin II had only 10 “spell schools”), and they will be able to perform over 600 spells and actions (Divinity had 225).

Larian Studios director of publishing Michael Douse said in a press release, “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 frames per second on PlayStation 5, which is remarkable considering the breadth and depth Baldur’s Gate III aims for. […] It is a massive, expansive game that truly brings Dungeons & Dragons to life, with multiplayer and split-screen co-op, and at a scale roughly four times that of our previous game, Divinity: Original Sin II. 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.” He referred to Starfield.

Larian Studios CEO and creative director Swen Vincke added, “We set out to make a game that would reward player creativity and truly bring Dungeons & Dragons to life in a cinematic way that explores the breadth and depth RPGs can offer. Baldur’s Gate III 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 unbelievable to think that all this time, they experienced less than a quarter of what Baldur’s Gate III has to offer. I cannot wait to hear our players’ stories when the full game releases. It’s time to gather your party.”

Baldur’s Gate III will launch on PC on August 3 instead of August 31 and PlayStation 5 on September 6 instead of August 31.

Source: Gematsu