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Can Baldur’s Gate 3 Bigger than the stars? This seems like an absurd proposition. After all, Bethesda is a giant in the role-playing game world. Arguably, Skyrim may be the most successful role-playing video game to date, and Starfield promises to be Skyrim in Space. News of the release date is naturally awaited with bated breath. There may not be a more significant release this year. Assuming it still comes out this year: Despite rumors that a star-packed reveal is imminent, the radio silence on that front has been deafening.
But think about it: Once upon a time, the idea that CD Projekt RED could challenge the might of Bioware and Bethesda in terms of cultural impact or Business Done seemed silly. But in terms of critical, cultural, and financial success, The Witcher 3 could be on par with Skyrim. With its Netflix series and all, it has made a series of niche Polish fantasy novels — popular in their home country but little known elsewhere — a huge international success.
Significantly more people played the third Witcher game than the first two games. It’s hard to pin down what’s causing this. I mean, one obvious one is that it’s better. But aside from the leap in quality, what was it that brought the third game to the top when the first two, while enjoying a certain cult status, were only really popular with the hardcore gaming audience?
This could be the timing. When The Witcher 3 was released early in the PS4 life cycle, the massive AAA open-world adventure was a little thin on the ground. Maybe it’s just that CDPR gets a huge infusion of money from investors and has deep pockets for lavish marketing. It might just be enough for the first two games to build some word of mouth, and by the time the third game comes along, the property is ready to go mainstream.
Whatever the X-factor of The Witcher 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t necessarily enjoy any of the same advantages. But this is the time when the 9th Gen exclusives are on the way, and the PS5’s user base is starting to grow rapidly, as the supply shortages of the early years are a thing of the past. For PS5 owners looking for the next big RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3 could be a tantalizing prospect: it’ll make the most of their £450 leisure box, with a hyper-detailed game world and beautiful character models , and it’s a game they can really put in for a few hours, making it well worth the investment, even with a retail price of £70.
And, crucially, unlike Starfield, it’s actually headed to their consoles. Larian has made it clear that it will come to Xbox, as long as they can get co-op to work on Series S (no doubt they will, but optimization is a tricky thing). I also very much doubt that it will be officially supported on Steam Deck, like Divinity: Original Sin 2. The studio has made no secret of its love for the platform, which seems like a slam dunk considering controller support on PC is certainly a natural consequence of console ports.
Whatever happens, Baldur’s Gate 3 looks like it could be Larian’s biggest (and best) game yet. They’ve built a loyal following over the years with the Divinity series, and are generally seen as a pretty solid option for managing Baldur’s Gate licenses. But I think it will do better and challenge the big players in terms of active users. It has the name recognition, the pedigree, and the quality of success, and the timing seems favorable, as the true 9th Gen experience is about to be poured down, and the enthusiast tabletop game itself is enjoying a huge renaissance in an era of video conferencing and online fandom.
I am not sure. But my gut tells me it’s going to be huge.
