Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox can still come in 2023 after Microsoft relaxes one key rule

Baldur’s Gate 3 will be heading to Xbox in 2023 after all, as a “solution” was found between Larian Studios and Xbox at Gamescom.

Releasing on PC on Aug. 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 is due to make its bow on PlayStation on Sept. 6, but there was no news of an Xbox release, despite there being no exclusivity restrictions.

Developers for Baldur’s Gate 3 initially stated this was due to a parity issue relating to split-screen on Xbox Series S, though there was confusion after Phil Spencer denied that was the case at Gamescom.

Spencer also revealed he had met with developers at Gamescom regarding the delayed Xbox release and a positive update has now been shared by Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke.

Vincke revealed a “solution” to the aforementioned parity issue and confirmed the Xbox Series S would not feature split-screen co-op, whereas the Series X will, but both consoles will have cross-save progression with Steam. As such, Baldur’s Gate 3 will now be arriving on Xbox before the end of 2023, which is something Larian Studios have “been working towards for quite some time.”

The development is also huge in regards to parity between the Xbox Series X and its cheaper, less powerful sibling the Series S, which has received criticism for allegedly holding back the capabilities of the X as titles launched on both must include the same features.

It appears there has been some confusion with that, however, as Spencer stated that even Xbox studios do not launch every game with full parity between the pair, citing ray tracing as an example.

Moving forward, it should allow developers more flexibility when creating games for Xbox as it is clear not every feature needs to be present on both next-gen consoles.