Larian Studios has confirmed its critically-acclaimed RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3, will launch on Xbox Series X and Series S consoles later in 2023 – although the news arrives with a minor caveat. Over the last few months, Larian has been open about the struggles of bringing the game to Xbox consoles, with splitscreen mode reportedly causing performance issues for the Series S.
A need to refine this feature to provide parity for players on Xbox and PlayStation delayed the decision to announce a firm game release date for Xbox – but now, it appears Larian has found a solution. In a post on Twitter, Larian founder and CEO Swen Vincke confirmed the Xbox console version was going ahead, but without splitscreen on Xbox Series S.
‘Super happy to confirm that after meeting [Phil Spencer] yesterday, we’ve found a solution that allows us to bring Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox players this year still, something we’ve been working towards for quite some time,’ Vincke said. ‘All improvements will be there, with split-screen coop on Series X. Series S will not feature split-screen coop, but will also include cross-save progression between Steam and Xbox Series.’
Read: Baldur’s Gate 3 Review – Glory, guts, and brain worms
Prior to the announcement, Spencer had discussed the game’s arrival on Xbox, describing Larian Studios as ‘an important partner’.
‘It’s a game I want to see on the platform,’ he told IGN. ‘We should together come up with clarity to set some expectations for Xbox fans, and I look forward to doing that.’ Now, it appears clarity has arrived, with a swift turnaround.
While the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series S will differ from the version on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the minor caveat of no splitscreen is likely preferable to having no release at all. The technical hurdle may be overcome in future – but for now, this shortcut will allow the game to launch on Xbox sooner, rather than later.
As of writing, the Xbox version of Baldur’s Gate 3 does not have a firm release date, but we expect to hear more from Larian Studios in the coming months. The PC version of the game is out now, and the PlayStation 5 release is expected on 6 September 2023.
