Larian Studios has revealed during a recent livestream that its upcoming RPG Baldur's Gate III will enter into early access on September 30th on both Stadia and PC (Steam). This livestream was called Panel From Hell and is about an hour and a half long, so goes into excruciating detail of what's to be expected in the first chapter of the planned early access release. So we now know that there will be five playable Origin characters to choose from during early access, such as Astarion (Elf/Vampire Rogue), Gale (Human Wizard), Lae’zel (Githyanki Warrior), Shadowheart (Half-Elf Cleric), and Wyll (Human Warlock).
Above, you can watch the hour-and-a-half Panel from Hell live stream to get a better idea of what Larian will bring to the table when Baldur's Gate III lands in early access on Stadia this September. For those that don't want to watch just to find out where the game takes place, it's revealed that you'll begin your journey in Avernus (the first layer of the Nine Hells) to deal with the aftermath of a cataclysmic event that saw the city dragged into hell.
In celebration of the early access announcement for Baldur's Gate III, a new trailer for the game has also been revealed, which you can watch above. The entire video is cinematic, so no gameplay is shown, but boy howdy is this an exciting trailer, so make sure to give it a watch.
Oh, and if you're familiar with Larian's earlier work, it has also been revealed that BG3 will offer a much broader scope than Divinity: Original Sin 2, seeing that everything from dialogue to combat has significantly expanded.
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Amount of combats: 22 in DOS2 EA vs 80 in BG3 EA
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Amount of dialogue lines in english: 17.600 in DOS2 EA vs. 45.980 in BG3 EA
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Amount of characters: 142 in DOS2 EA vs. 596 in BG3 EA
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Amount of spells/actons: 69 in DOS2 EA vs. 146 in BG3 EA
As you can see, BG3 is going to be massive compared to the studio's previous CRPGs like Divinity: Original Sin 2, and that was a big game in its own right. So while we still don't know when Baldur's Gate III will be officially launched, Larian has at least confirmed when early access will take place, and yes, Stadia users will be able to jump in, just like their PC brethren. So if you're a Stadia user and are eager to get your hands on Baldur's Gate III as early as possible, it looks like September 30th is the date to mark on your calendar. Everyone that takes part in this early access will be able to play through the first act, which definitely shows Larian is confident with the state of its game since most devs shy away from lengthy reveals before release.
Source: YouTube, (1)
PRESS RELEASE
Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access release date announced alongside new gameplay details, the final part of the CGI intro, and a breakdown of Early Access content
DUBLIN, 2020 - Today, Larian Studios revealed the eagerly awaited Early Access Release date for their upcoming RPG Baldur’s Gate 3. During the Panel from Hell livestream, the studio announced that they’re aiming for September 30th, 2020 as the date PC and Stadia players are able to jump into the first Act of Early Access.
Speakers on The Panel From Hell (Swen Vincke, Chris Perkins, Adam Smith, and Geoff Keighley) went into some depth about Baldur’s Gate 3’s Early Access content, and the journey Larian is soon embarking on with their players.
The final part of the game’s now roughly 6 minute CGI introduction revealed that players begin their journey in Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. Avernus featured heavily in the recently released D&D adventure module Descent into Avernus, which saw the entire city of Elturel dragged into hell. The city was saved, but the aftermath of that cataclysmic event casts a shadow over the events of Baldur’s Gate 3. But players won’t just see the aftermath - captive aboard a nautiloid, they take part in a daring escape as the ship jumps between planes of existence, and is caught up in the fury of the eternal, apocalyptic Blood War that rages across the hellscape. Avernus will be featured throughout the game, alongside many other locations (to be announced later).
A highlight of the Panel From Hell was the “lobotomy scene”, a new gameplay snippet shown during the stream. As players attempt to seize control of the nautiloid, they find a corpse with its brain exposed. The brain itself seems to address the player, asking them to free it. At this point, the player can decide to get their hands dirty, extracting the brain from the skull, which leads to the discovery that it’s not a brain at all, but rather a trapped Intellect Devourer. These creatures feed on the intelligence of sentient beings, taking over their victims’ bodies on behalf of their Mind Flayer masters.
Swen Vincke, Creative Director of Larian Studios, also showcased the scope of Early Access, giving details on how the size of Baldur’s Gate 3’s first act compares to Larian’s previous release, Divinity: Original Sin 2, when it launched in Early Access. Here are a few numbers that will emphasise the depth of Baldur’s Gate 3 in comparison to Divinity: Original Sin 2:
Amount of combats: 22 in DOS2 EA vs 80 in BG3 EA
Amount of dialogue lines in english: 17.600 in DOS2 EA vs. 45.980 in BG3 EA
Amount of characters: 142 in DOS2 EA vs. 596 in BG3 EA
Amount of spells/actons: 69 in DOS2 EA vs. 146 in BG3 EA
Classes and races will be announced closer to the date of September 30, but Larian today confirmed that Baldur’s Gate 3’s Early Access includes (as well as player customized characters), 5 Origin Characters - with more to be announced throughout Early Access.
The five launch characters are: Astarion (Elf/Vampire Rogue), Gale (Human Wizard), Lae’zel (Githyanki Warrior), Shadowheart (Half-Elf Cleric), Wyll (Human Warlock)
Through gameplay footage, and audience interaction, Vincke demonstrated how the game allows players to discover different permutations in encounters and dialogs, depending on the characters they play, and the choices they make. This depth of reactivity means that even in Early Access, multiple playthroughs will lead to different outcomes and developments not only for the players and their companions, but for the many NPCs they meet, and the world around them. In very simple terms, playing “good” and playing “evil” will offer wholly different experiences with many twists and turns (all performance captured) that other players may never see, depending on their choices.
While the studio is working towards the September 30th release date, there is still plenty that needs to be done before players can dive into the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access on PC and Google Stadia.
For more information about the Early Access philosophy covered today in Larian’s stream, we recommend keeping up to date with the community updates. Today’s will cover heat-maps, and the topic of how player input is parsed into functional data to improve the game. Heavy stuff!
Larian Studios is an independent RPG developer founded in 1996 in Ghent, Belgium. Over 200 people work between the five worldwide studios in Ghent, St Petersburg, Quebec, Dublin and Malaysia. Larian is best known for the Divinity universe, which they introduced to the world with Divine Divinity in 2002. In 2014, Larian launched Divinity: Original Sin, a classic CRPG that won over 150 awards and nominations. The company released its critically acclaimed sequel Divinity: Original Sin 2 on September 14, 2017, followed by the Definitive Edition in August 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to a 93 Metacritic rating. The Nintendo Switch version released in September 2019 featuring cross save progression between Nintendo Switch and Steam. Divinity:Original Sin 2 won a Bafta for Best Multiplayer Game. In June 2019, Larian Studios announced the development of Baldur’s Gate 3
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UPDATE: 2020/09/23 11:04am PDT BY MATTHEW SHOLTZ
Larian Studios announce Baldur's Gate 3 early access will now start Oct. 6th
This past August (2020), we learned that the much anticipated CRPG Baldur's Gate 3 would be coming to Stadia as an early access release at the end of September. Well, Larian Studios just tweeted that this early access is now delayed a week, with the expected arrival now planned for October 6th.
Funnily enough, Larian has a good sense of humor about this delay, having changed its Twitter name to Baldur's Late. While this delay was unexpected, Larian has made it a point to guarantee the early access version of the game will indeed arrive on the 6th, and that the studio will reveal how romance and companionship work in the game later today. So make sure to keep an eye on Larian's Twitter feed.
UPDATE: 2020/10/06 11:29am PDT BY MATTHEW SHOLTZ
Baldur's Gate 3 is now available in early access
After last week's delay, Baldur's Gate 3 is finally available in early access on Stadia. Those that have a Stadia account can find the game right here, and you can claim you copy for $59.99. That's right, Larian Studios would like you to pay them to test their early access release, and there's no doubt plenty of fans will be eager to jump at the chance since they'll retain ownership of the title after early access ends. Interestingly, Google has made it clear that Crowd Choice is available for this specific release, a new feature where streamers can easily engage with their fans.
Of course, since this is an early access release, players can expect upgrades and refinements as development progresses, and supposedly these updates will come to Stadia in a timely fashion, though games like Marvel's Avengers have proven this isn't always the case. So here's hoping Larian is a bit more responsive than Crystal Dynamics when it comes to keeping its game up to date on all platforms.
So if you're eager to get your hands on Baldur's Gate 3, today's the day you can finally jump into the CRPG's early access.