After launching into Early Access in 2020, Larian has been quietly been working away on Baldur's Gate 3 to get it ready for full release. While initially the studio was aiming for a 2022 release window, the developers now expect to leave Early Access some time in 2023.
Alongside the latest major patch for Baldur's Gate 3, Larian also gave us an update on when the game might leave early access. Unfortunately, the new release window is a bit further away than expected:
“Our internal goal post for release is a quality bar rather than a date. A ton of progress has been made towards that quality bar over the past year in Early Access, but we know many players are waiting for an actual date. That date will come when we’re even closer to meeting our goal, but right now our expectation is that Baldur’s Gate 3 will release out of Early Access in 2023.”
On the plus side, there is quite a bit of content and new changes to dive into for those who are playing the game in its early access form. Patch 7 has now landed, unlocking a new class (Barbarian), new weapons, improvements across 700 cinematics, as well as an overhaul for the UI and HUD.
The full patch notes are extensive and also go into detail on a number of bug fixes. Over the course of the year, the game will continue to get major updates and additional content as Larian builds up to a 2023 launch.
KitGuru Says: Baldur's Gate 3 looks fantastic so far, but the full game is going to take a bit longer. As we've seen with the Divinity Original Sin games, Larian usually makes it worth the wait.