Baldur's Gate 3's release date jumps up to August 3rd, providing precious breathing room from Starfield

Rare news, folks! RPG threequel Baldur's Gate 3 is now coming out on August 3rd - almost a month sooner than its previously planned date of August 31st. The opposite of a delay, then. The good news was announced today via a community update from developers Larian, in which we also received more juicy details about the game’s D&D races and classes, new companions, and a glimpse at just how massive Baldur’s Gate 3 really is.

“Reaching a technical bar that matches our design ambitions felt like the right move,” said director of publishing Michael Douse. He went on to say that “holding back the PC version” of the game during a crowded release period was “the wrong move,” leading to a new release date.

The push forward gives PC friends slightly more time to get through developer Larian’s behemoth before Starfield zooms into our ever-fleeting lives. But in some galaxy-brained counter-programming, the team are now launching the PS5 version of Baldur’s Gate 3 on September 6th, the same day as Starfield, meaning PlayStationers won’t need to twiddle their thumbs in envy.

Larian also pulled out some staggering stats to boast about the sheer size of their RPG. Baldur’s Gate 3 apparently contains over two million words (outsizing all three volumes of The Lord Of The Rings) and over 170 hours of cinematics (double the length of HBO’s Game Of Thrones show). Something tells me that we’ll need more than a mere month to get through this.

On top of that, the game contains seven playable protagonists with their own storylines and objectives, alongside 11 races and 31 subraces. The numbers don’t end there though: 21 classes, 46 subclasses, and over 600 spells let you mod playstyles to an almost extreme degree. Unsurprisingly, the team estimates that BG3 is roughly four times bigger than their last chunky gem, Divinity: Original Sin II.

“We set out to make a game that would reward player creativity and truly bring D&D to life in a cinematic way that explores the breadth and depth RPGs can offer,” said CEO and director Swen Vincke. “Baldur’s Gate 3 has become an astronomical game that never fails to surprise,” and he continues to say that early access players only “experienced less than a quarter of what BG3 has to offer.”

Feeling impatient? Tune into the developer’s Panel From Hell stream on July 7th to “finally explore the full scope” of the game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now in early access on Steam for £50/€60/$60 ahead of its full release on August 3rd.

Disclosure: Adam Smith (RPS in peace) and Emily Gera (freelance RPS in peace) once wrote for this website. Now they write for Baldur’s Gate 3!