Baldur's Gate 3 Will Miss Its Early Access Target
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic bringing most things to a screeching halt, it seems that development on Baldur's Gate 3 has been progressing steadily over at Larian Studios. In April, Larian announced that it was still looking at a 2020 launch into early access for Baldur's Gate 3, before announcing that the game would be available in August. Unfortunately, we need to pump the brakes a bit today, as it seems that Baldur's Gate 3 is going to miss that August release window.
So said Larian Studios on Twitter today, announcing that we won't be seeing the game launch into early access this month as originally planned. There is some good news, however, with Larian saying that release is "just around the corner." So, it sounds like we won't have to wait long after that original August release window before we get the game.
Soon(tm) basically – just not as soon as we had hoped. But it's coming! https://t.co/M6HBzz2RZt
— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) August 4, 2020
How close is "just around the corner," though? That we're unsure of at the present moment, but Larian will reveal the game's new release date in an August 18th Panel From Hell broadcast. The broadcast will feature Geoff Keighley (presumably as part of Summer Game Fest), Chris Perkins from Wizards of the Coast, Larian Studios head Swen Vincke, and the Larian crew.
So far, the only thing that's confirmed for the Panel from Hell is this release date announcement, but it seems safe to assume that we'll also learn more about what early access will entail for Baldur's Gate 3. A new trailer also seems likely, but at the end of the day, the only thing we can say for sure is that we'll learn when Baldur's Gate 3 is launching in early access.
Baldur's Gate 3 was revealed last year shortly before E3 2019, marking the return of the mainline franchise after two decades. Larian Studios seems particularly well suited for Baldur's Gate 3 given its success with the Divinity: Original Sin series, so hopefully the developer can deliver a good game. The Panel from Hell is slated for Augusth 18th at 10AM PDT, and we'll let you know when a new release date is announced for Baldur's Gate 3.