Baldur’s Gate 3, an upcoming role-playing video game that is being developed and published by Larian Studios, is set to launch on Early Access on September 30. According to Larian director of publishing Michael Douse, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be listed at $60, which makes it Larian’s most expensive PC game yet.
Douse says the game’s steep price reflects the size of the game and the work that went into it. In comparison, Larian’s last game, Divinity: Original Sin 2, was priced at $60 on consoles, but launched on PC at $45. If Baldur’s Gate 3’s price tag puts you off, Douse says you shouldn’t “feel pressured to buy it during EA.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the third main game in the Baldur’s Gate series and is based on the 5th-edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. The Early Access version will feature a 25-hour adventure to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, Faerun, the largest metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast, within the greater Western Heartlands, and the Underdark, the subterranean home of the drow and duergar.
Although Douse claims he hasn’t gotten complaints about paying $60 for an unfinished game, he worries that the price might create a “perception problem” and reminds players that the $60 gives buyers access to the full game when it’s been completed. He adds that Baldur’s Gate 3 will enter Early Access with some “funky Twitch integration” that will enable voting on “certain things.”
“It’s better to think of Early Access as a playable preorder,” he says. “Though of course, it isn’t exactly that. Its function is entirely to make the game better through pooling feedback and testing ideas, iterating directly with our audience.”
Some argue that since Early Access players are providing critical feedback, including reports and feature requests, for games in development, they should be rewarded with a lower price. Douse, however, says that in the past Divinity: Original Sin 2 Early Access players have benefitted from Gift Bag DLCs, Definitive Edition update, and other bonuses, and Baldur’s Gate 3 might expect the same.
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