Baldur’s Gate 3 Enters Early Access In September After August Delay

Attachment 42475

Larian Studios now hopes to bring its Dungeons & Dragons-based RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 to early access in late September. This news was revealed during the Panel From Hell on Tuesday morning, which also showed off some fresh content. The panel, as with so many Baldur’s Gate 3 presentations before it, encountered some technical difficulties but covered a lot of material.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was originally set to enter early access in August. However, the studio was forced to change its plans earlier this month as the date drew near and the team determined the game would not be ready in time. Fans did not have to wait long for more information, as the Panel From Hell promised to reveal more information only a few weeks after the delay was made public.

Fans can expect to jump into the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 when the game comes to early access for Steam and Stadia on September 30th, according to Larian Studios. Players will get to experience the game with only a handful of starting characters and character classes, but, in response to a community question, the game's creative director confirmed that more would be added throughout early access. Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access will offer around 25 hours of gameplay and allow the player to hit level four with their chosen character.

The aptly named Panel From Hell also featured some notable content reveals. As some pieced together from earlier showcases, Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to have a great deal to do with devils. The livestream kicked off with a cinematic trailer shown in prior presentations, but with a little more tacked on to the ending. The main character throughout most of the trailer is held captive on a mind flayer ship, but, as the new end reveals, is thrown from the vessel and plunges headfirst into a battle taking place in Avernus, D&D’s first layer of hell. This is how Baldur’s Gate 3 will seemingly begin. Larian additionally showed off a terribly detailed scene involving an intellect devourer, a brain-like creature that inhabits different hosts, which was apparently a late add-on that the developers just couldn't resist.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is shaping up to be an extremely detailed and multi-layered game if this panel and past presentations are to be believed. Though it may seem like the game’s early access caps the players’ progression a little early, this may not be the case. In the tabletop game, D&D characters will have attained many defining skills or spells by level four, so hitting this level should give players a good sense of the full game. Of course, the real test will come when fans are able to dig into the world and see how it really feels in September.

Baldur's Gate 3 is slated to release in early access for Google Stadia and PC on September 30th.