The August 2023 release date means Baldur’s Gate 3 arrives, in full, just shy of three years after it first appeared in Steam Early Access, in October 2022. A lot has happened there of course - a lot of tweaking and tuning and honing the experience of the game. Its popularity allowed Larian to breathe and make BG3 a bigger, better thing. Just for giggles: the August 2023 date also means BG3 arrives 23 years after BG2, and 25 years after the original Baldur’s Gate. I imagine you’re probably not laughing if you remember those. Anyway! Today’s announcement comes amid the annual The Game Awards flurry, and with a brand new trailer for the game. Things to look out for in said trailer: the appearance of iconic Baldur’s Gate characters Minsc and Jaheira, now confirmed as characters in BG3, and who you can recruit; the city of Baldur’s Gate itself, seen in-game for the first time; and the game’s lavish and limited Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition will cost you a chunky €260/$270, and packs a cool-looking Mindflayer vs. Drow statue, a tadpole keyring, a big metal D20 die that I really want, a hardcover art book, a cloth map, stickers, D&D character sheets for the game’s origin characters, and a certificate to impress your friends with. The first 15,000 Collector’s Editions sold will also include three Magic: The Gathering booster packs containing the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate card set, which features characters from BG3. That’s it for today, but there will be more news to come on Wednesday, 14th December, in Larian’s Panel from Hell stream where it will detail what’s coming in Patch 9 of the early access build.
