It seems like Baldur’s Gate 3 Xbox Series X|S port will not be out until next year or very late 2023 at the earliest. Larian Studios’ director of publishing, Michael Douse, claims that the team hopes to have an update by the end of the year.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is not a console exclusive to the PS5 literally, as the developer hoped to launch the game simultaneously on all devices. However, the game’s release was delayed on Xbox due to the Xbox Series S not being able to run Baldur’s Gate 3 split-screen co-op on the same standard as the Series X and PS5.
Microsoft allows developers to graphically scale down their games on the Series S, as it is a cheaper and inferior console to the flagship consoles, but the company requires developers to ship games with feature parity across Xbox Series X and Series S.
Taking to Twitter, Michael Douse writes:
(Baldur’s Gate 3 is) far from being exclusive, we have no exclusivity deal that prevents us from launching on Xbox. The issue is a technical hurdle. We cannot remove the split-screen feature because we are obliged to launch with feature parity, and so continue to try and make it work.
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. We hope to have an update by the end of the year.
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. We hope to have an update by the end of the year.
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) July 31, 2023
It seems like we should have an “update” about Baldur’s Gate 3 Xbox release by the end of the year, suggesting that the game itself could be slated for next year on the console.
While Xbox players have to wait a little longer, PC players can play Baldur’s Gate 3 later this week on August 3, while the PS5 version of the game launches in September. We will update our readers as soon as any information about the Xbox version is shared.
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