The Steam Deck's release date is rapidly approaching. All three SKUs of the Steam Deck are expected to go on sale on February 25, with shipping shortly to follow. Of course, only those with reservations will be able to order a Steam Deck. Everyone else will have to wait until after Q2 at the earliest. Early reviews are already coming in, though, and praise is high. Take for instance Larian Studios, developer of Baldur's Gate 3 and the Divinity: Original Sin series, which believes the Steam Deck will do "very well."
Baldur's Gate 3 game director Swen Vincke recently spoke to PCGamesN regarding the Steam Deck. The outlet asked Vincke what his thoughts regarding the Steam Deck were, as well as how Larian's games were running on the handheld console. In general terms, Vincke says that he's a "big fan" of the Steam Deck. The handheld console was featured during Larian's recent Baldur's Gate 3 Panel from Hell event. Baldur's Gate 3 was also featured in a recent Steam Deck trailer.
As for whether Larian will be supporting the Steam Deck fully, the studio is already moving forward in the process. Vincke says that both Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 "play fantastically" on the Steam Deck. He even recommends Steam Deck players go back and replay the games on the console, they work so well. For the moment, however, both games are listed only as "Playable" through Valve's verification system. It's possible that they'll be approved for a "Verified" checkmark down the line, but there's no word of that for now.
Regarding Baldur's Gate 3, that's another matter entirely. Fans of Larian's work already know that Baldur's Gate 3 is currently in Early Access and is otherwise in active development. That's not exactly conducive to being approved for Steam Deck through Valve's verification system. But, as previously noted, Baldur's Gate 3 has been advertised for Steam Deck. It seems like an inevitability.
Baldur's Gate 3 development continues to move along at a measured pace. As part of the recent Panel from Hell event, Larian confirmed that it would soon be introducing Dungeons & Dragons' popular Barbarian class to the game. A final release date for Baldur's Gate 3 has yet to be confirmed.
Expect to hear more from Larian regarding the Steam Deck console in the future. This is just the start of what's likely to be a very healthy life for the Steam Deck. Larian and dozens, if not hundreds of game studios are excited about the platform, never mind the thousands of interested gamers. As Vinke would say, it's worth getting excited about.
Baldur's Gate 3 is in early access on PC.
Source: PCGamesN
