Baldur’s Gate 3 developer explains Xbox delay is due to split-screen

Xbox players waiting for news on Baldur’s Gate 3 can blame split-screen for the long delay on the platform.

Baldur’s Gate 3 releases on PC on Aug. 3 and PlayStation 5 on Sept. 6—but there is no definitive date set for Xbox.

Xbox players face a lengthy delay with no clear end in sight, with Larian Studios’ director of publishing, Michael Douse, revealing they hope to have an update “by the end of the year.”

While console exclusivity is usually a reason for a lack of a particular title on a platform, or a launch delay, that does not apply to Baldur’s Gate 3. Instead, the issue relates to split-screen on Xbox Series X.

Explaining the issue on Twitter, Douse confirmed the issue was “a technical hurdle” as they continue to try to get split-screen working on the Series S—and the split-screen feature cannot be removed as they are “obliged to launch with feature parity.”

The Xbox Series S, the lower-tier of Microsoft’s two next-gen consoles, has never seen an RPG of Baldur’s Gate 3’s scale launch on the platform with seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op, and it’s Larian Studios’ intention to be the first.

While the issue is limited to Xbox Series S consoles, it means that those hoping for Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series X are faced with the same long wait—which is tough considering the wait for the latest installment in the franchise is 22 years.

The upside, however, is that Xbox players will get their hands on Baldur’s Gate 3 eventually and when PS5 players dive into the game on Sept. 6, Xbox players will be venturing into the world of Starfield.