Larian Studios has officially released Baldur’s Gate 3 for Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, although you’d be forgiven for missing the announcement. After promising more news in December, the studio surprise-released the title following The Game Awards 2023, with only a brief post on Twitter / X confirming the launch.
“Xbox players, it’s party time,” Larian said. “Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available for Xbox Series X|S; start your adventure today!”
Given Baldur’s Gate 3 had a major presence at The Game Awards, it’s surprising that its release for Xbox Series X and Series S was left to Twitter / X – but according to Larian Studios CEO and founder Swen Vincke, the reason for this was simple: he forgot about it.
“I had one job and that was to announce this [the Baldur’s Gate 3 release for Xbox Series X/S] if we won an award,” Vincke said. “Sorry all but happy it’s out there!”
Read: Baldur’s Gate 3 Review – Glory, guts, and brain worms
As previously revealed by Larian, the game’s long-awaited release on Xbox Series X and Series S was hampered by a desire for console parity. The studio aimed to release the game on Series X and Series S with the same quality and features as those on PlayStation 5 – but trouble with performance in splitscreen mode forced a delay for the Xbox version.
“We’ve run into some technical issues in developing the Xbox port that have stopped us feeling 100% confident in announcing it until we’re certain we’ve found the right solutions – specifically, we’ve been unable to get splitscreen co-op to work to the same standard on both Xbox Series X and S, which is a requirement for us to ship,” the studio explained in early 2023.
Over the last several months, Larian has worked to correct these issues, while also releasing a number of updates and patches, including new features, for those playing the game on PlayStation and PC. The newly-released Xbox version of the game will include these same fixes and updates, with any new content now likely to arrive simultaneously on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
As announced by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available for Xbox Series X and Series S via the Microsoft Store.
