Baldur's Gate 3: Release Time, Preload, Steam Deck Verification, and More

Baldur's Gate 3 launches on August 3 and here's everything you need to know about release day.

By Ricky Frech

Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 is shaping up to be one of the hottest releases of 2023, kicking off what looks like a string of massive launches that will take place over the course of this fall. Baldur's Gate 3 has been in the works for quite a while now, with an early access period that started last year, but the official release should bring in all kinds of new players looking to get their RPG fix to end the summer. With a release of this size, there are quite a few questions you'll probably have as we get closer to its release date, so we've collected everything you need to know about BG3 ahead of launch below.

Baldur's Gate 3 Release Date

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Baldur's Gate 3 is set to launch on PC on August 3, 2023. The game was originally going to launch on both PC and PlayStation 5 at the same time, but Larian Studios decided to move the PC launch up a month. That means the PS5 release will come on September 6, 2023. Technically, that means the PS5 release has been delayed slightly, but only by a week. Either way, the PC launch comes first and will be in players' hands on August 3.

When Can You Preload Baldur's Gate 3

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We've learned that Baldur's Gate 3 will be an absolutely massive game at above 100 GBs. In most cases, you'd expect the developer to provide the option to preload a game of that size to make it ready for launch day. However, Larian Studios has recently announced that will not be an option for BG3, meaning you'll need to download the entire thing on launch before you can even begin playing.

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Will Baldur's Gate 3 Run on Steam Deck?

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Baldur's Gate 3 will run on the Steam Deck at launch, and Larian is trying to get it Steam Deck Verified by then as well. That said, players might have to wait a few days for it to technically get that badge. Larian does say it currently runs well, so you won't need to worry too much. They do note that they won't have FSR 2.0 at launch, but they hope to have that in by September 6.

Is Baldur's Gate 3 Coming to Xbox?

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Unfortunately, Baldur's Gate 3 has not been officially announced for Xbox Series X/S yet. Larian has repeatedly said it wants to bring the game to that console, but they're currently focused on the PC and PS5 versions. They've specifically noted that issues with split-screen co-op have been the problem behind the Xbox version, so once they get that fixed, we'll probably start to hear more about it. So while there's currently nothing to announce, you can expect to see an Xbox version hit in the near future.

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