Highlights
- Baldur's Gate 3 aims to achieve seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op on the Xbox Series S console, a feat no other RPG of its scale has accomplished.
- The Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 has been delayed due to technical difficulties in implementing split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S.
- The studio is committed to ensuring quality and is working hard to provide an update on the Xbox version by the end of the year.
Baldur's Gate 3 is looking to do something "no other RPG" of its scale has achieved, which is to get "seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op" working on the Xbox Series S console. Baldur's Gate 3 is set to be one of the biggest new game releases of the year. PC gamers will be able to play it later this week, but console gamers will have to wait a bit longer to start the adventure on their platform of choice.
The Baldur's Gate 3 PC release date is August 3, while the game will hit PS5 consoles on September 6. An Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 is in the works as well, but it is currently without a release date. While no exclusivity deal has been made, Baldur's Gate 3 has effectively become a timed-PS5 console exclusive thanks to the Xbox version's delay. Unfortunately, it seems the Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 has gotten pushed back because of the Xbox Series S console.
While Larian recently said the Xbox Series S is not holding back console gaming, it has also acknowledged that getting Baldur's Gate 3 split-screen co-op working on Xbox Series S is proving to be a "huge technical hurdle." This is according to Michael Douse, who explained as much on Twitter. "We have quite a few engineers working very hard to do what no other RPG of this scale has achieved: seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op on Series S."
Any game released on Xbox Series X must have feature parity on Series S. This has proven to be controversial, with some individuals in the industry criticizing the Xbox Series S and accusing it of holding back game development for this generation. Even though Larian has pushed back against that narrative, it is clear that the Xbox Series S is what's ultimately causing Xbox gamers to have to wait longer to play Baldur's Gate 3.
Douse said in his tweet that he hopes to provide an update on the Baldur's Gate 3 Xbox version by the end of the year, which could mean that Xbox gamers won't get to play the game until 2024 at the earliest. Some Xbox fans were hoping to play Baldur's Gate 3 before 2023 is out, so this will likely be disappointing to hear, but it's also a testament to the studio's commitment to quality that it's not giving up on making sure split-screen co-op works when playing the game on Xbox Series S.
Baldur's Gate 3 really seems to be going above and beyond expectations, which is a big reason why it's generated so much hype. Time will tell if Baldur's Gate 3 lives up to that hype, but chances seem good.
Baldur's Gate 3 launches August 3 for PC with a PS5 version to follow on September 6. An Xbox version of the game is in development but currently without a release date.
Source: VGC
