Baldur’s Gate 3 – Release Date, Character Creation, And Everything We Know

After three years of early access fine-tuning, Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost here. A sequel two decades in the making–co-creator Black Isle Studios took a stab at the game but ultimately canceled it when it shut down operations in 2003–Baldur’s Gate 3 is being produced by Belgian developer Larian Studios. Like its predecessors, Baldur’s Gate 3 is shaping up to be more than just a game, but a deep and detailed dive into the worlds of Dungeons ‘n Dragons.

Not only does it draw from the rich history and lore of Wizard of the Coast’s IP, but Baldur’s Gate 3 also allows you to live out your fantasy dreams within the Forgotten Realms, as you’ll have plenty of tools to create a detailed avatar, define their origin, and recruit companions to your cause. Ahead of its launch in August, here’s everything that we know about Baldur’s Gate 3.

Release date

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been available through Steam’s early access for several months now, but if you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the full version of the game, then you won’t have long to wait. The game will officially be released on August 31, 2023, a month that so far doesn’t have too much competition aside from the launch of a game called Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, From Software’s new sequel to its classic action series.

Platforms

For now, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be available on PC, Mac, and PS5 when it launches. Xbox Series X|S and Switch ports haven’t been confirmed yet, and as for last-gen PlayStation and Xbox systems, the game won’t be available on them. For now, technical issues are plaguing Larian’s Xbox Series X|S of Baldur’s Gate 3, and the studio has said that it’s “not confident” enough to announce an Xbox release.

Baldur’s Gate 3 PC requirements

Aside from taking up a sizable amount of space on your hard drive, Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t too demanding with its pc REQUIREMENTS.

Minimum

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel I5 4690 / AMD FX 8350
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 / RX 480 (4GB+ of VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 150 GB available space

Recommended

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel i7 8700K / AMD r5 3600
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia 2060 Super / RX 5700 XT (8GB+ of VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 150 GB available space

Does Baldur’s Gate 3 have multiplayer?

Up to three players can join you in Baldur’s Gate 3 and take control of a character. Companions that you recruit can be assigned to any player, and for the most part, you can all split up and embark on your own adventures. There are some limitations to this, as certain cutscenes and activities require all players to be together. In combat, a party will take turns at the same time if they have an aligned initiative, whereas everyone else will have to wait their turn. Relationships and choices are also independently tracked in Baldur’s Gate 3 multiplayer.

Cross-save progression

Good news for anyone looking to hop to a different platform, as Larian says that the game supports cross-save progression between PC, Mac, and PS5.

Character creation

You’ll not only choose a race and a class for the adventure that lies ahead, but also a character. In Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll be able to customize your gender, face, and physical attributes, and throw in some background traits to help better define your build. Some of these traits will naturally work very well with specific classes, and out of the available choices there’s the Criminal who’s skilled in deception and stealth, the Sage who has Arcana and history proficiency, and the Entertainer who is a master of performance and acrobatics.

Baldur’s Gate 3 classes

Plenty of classic classes will feature in Baldur’s Gate 3, as well as a new combat career in the form of the Bard. This musical master is a force to be reckoned with, as combat-focused College of Valour bards can spit hot lyrics that can buff your allies, debuff enemies with Cutting Words through the College of Lore subclass, and gain better rolls of the dice with the College of Valor subclass. It’s worth noting that the Monk class isn’t in early access, but it is expected to feature in the full game.

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Wizard

Races

Like other DnD games, choosing your race is an important and crucial step when building your character. Each races has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to further hone the attributes that you want to focus on when you start pouring time and resources into your personal build. So far, there are 26 races to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3.

• Asmodeus Tiefling
• Deep Gnome
• Drow
• Drow Half-Elf
• Dwarf
• Elf
• Forest Gnome
• Githyanki
• Gnome
• Gold Dwarf
• Half-Drow
• Half-Elf
• Halfling
• High Elf
• High Half-Elf
• Human
• Lightfoot Halfling
• Lolth-Sworn Drow
• Mephistopheles Tiefling
• Rock Gnome
• Seldarine Drow
• Shield Dwarf
• Strongheart Halfling
• Tiefling
• Wood Elf
• Zariel Tiefling

Companions

It’s dangerous to go alone, take a friend with! You’ll be able to recruit companions to help you out in Baldur’s Gate 3, and each one will have their own stats and skills that can be grown over time. So far, the list of companions includes:

• Shadowheart, the High Half-Elf Trickster
• Astarion, the High-Elf Rogue
• Gale, an ambitious Human Wizard
• Lae-zel, the Githyanki Fighter
• Wyll, a Human Warlock

Data-mining has uncovered the names of several other companions that’ll be able to adventure with you, and they are Helia, Karlach, Minsc, Halsin, and Jaheira.

Romance

Love is in the air, and in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll be able to form dynamic relationships with several of your companions. Larian says that the game uses a reactive system across your entire journey to solidify your chances to find your one true love, and based on how you interact with the companion that has captured your digital heart, they’ll form an opinion of you that’ll play a key role on whether or not they’ll reciprocate your feelings toward them. So far, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Wyll, and the NPC Minthara are all potential partners.