The official PC system requirements for Baldur's Gate 3 are going up across the board, months before the game leaves its Steam Early Access incubation period. Having initially launched on PC in an unfinished state, it's a given that the game's hardware requirements weren't set in stone just yet, either, and the developer Larian Studios has just issued a new, and presumably final, update on that front.
Larian Studios has been on a bit of an announcement bender as of late, with the studio's next major release making a surprise appearance on Sony's first State of Play of 2023. Following the information that Baldur's Gate 3 is coming to PS5 and more, the studio also went on to post a comprehensive new PC-specific blog, including the new hardware requirements.
According to Larian, Baldur's Gate 3 has seen significant improvements in the areas of visual fidelity and complexity since it first came out, and with this, the original (and fairly humble) minimum system requirements have become out of date. Larian did admit that the old minimum spec of the Nvidia GTX 780 and the Intel i5-4690 may very well still run the game just fine, but the developer believes that doing so hinders the end-user experience. To reflect the aforementioned graphical improvements, the new recommended minimum is an Nvidia GTX 970 or, alternatively, a Radeon RX 480, though it's worth pointing out that the minimum CPU spec has remained the same.
As one of the most hotly anticipated games of 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 needs to appeal to as wide of a gaming audience as possible, and Larian is sure to be aware of the fact that higher hardware requirements may put some low-spec gamers out of the running. This means that the decision wasn't made without due consideration, and the good news is that the recommended RTX 2060 / i7-8700K combo isn't out of reach for most gamers, either.
Those who are particularly worried about the new hardware requirements for Baldur's Gate 3 can either try the game out while it's still in early access or consider the fact that the developers have gone out of their way to mention they'll be playing it on the Steam Deck. If Valve's seminal handheld can handle Larian's flagship RPG, odds are good that regular low-end PCs will be able to pull it off as well, and as a bonus, Baldur's Gate 3 is almost certainly going to make its way onto most lists of the best games for the Steam Deck.
Those who are thrilled with the game's August 31 release date can now jump on the opportunity to get Baldur's Gate 3 in its Limited Collector's Edition, featuring a whole slew of physical goodies, in-game cosmetics, and more. With the launch window finally within grasp, the community can finally rest easy knowing when the game is coming out, though it goes without saying that, for Larian Studios, the final push has only just begun.
Baldur's Gate 3 launches on PC and PS5 on August 31, 2023.
Source: Steam
