Baldur’s Gate III was announced during a Google Stadia event, but that doesn’t mean that the game will be exclusive to Stadia, as Larian Studios has confirmed that the game will be coming to other platforms.
The Baldur’s Gate series ended in 2001, but rumors of a new entry in the series have been spreading for months now, with Larian Studios of Divinity: Original Sin fame rumored to be behind the project. The original Baldur’s Gate games are being ported to consoles and the next Dungeons & Dragons adventure is partly set in Baldur’s Gate, which led some fans to believe that a revival was in the works. Larian Studios recently update their website with a picture of the number three, suggesting that a Baldur’s Gate III announcement would be made at E3.
Baldur’s Gate III was revealed as part of the first Google Stadia Connect event, which led many fans to believe that the game would be exclusive to that platform. Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke recently spoke to IGN and confirmed that Baldur’s Gate III is coming to other systems and already has pages on both GOG and Steam. Vincke didn’t mention the prospect of Baldur’s Gate III coming to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One (or their successors), but console ports are also a possibility, as Larian Studios has previously ported the Divinity: Original Sin games to consoles.
Vincke also discussed the amount of content in Baldur’s Gate III when talking about how the Stadia platform will make it easier for players to connect to each other while playing co-operatively. It seems that Baldur’s Gate III will have the same scope as the earlier games in the series, as the original Baldur’s Gate games were notorious for the sheer amount of quests that could be undertaken.
The topic of exclusivity has been a touchy one recently, due to the Epic Games Store snapping up titles in its escalating conflict with Steam. Baldur’s Gate III is a highly-anticipated title with a strong pedigree both in terms of its developers and license, so it would be a foolish move for Larian Studios to go all-in with Google Stadia, especially as the validity of the platform hasn’t been proven outside of controlled demonstrations. It would make the most sense to port Baldur’s Gate III to as many platforms as possible, rather than taking a risk with Google, as Stadia still has a lot to prove.
“We’re making a game that has over 100 hours of content, so if you want to play that multiplayer it takes a lot of investment and syncing up with each other. If they can just do it on one link on any device that’s a lot easier to start doing it rather than having to sit behind your PC.”
Next: Destiny 2 Coming to Google Stadia
Source: IGN
