Exclusive: Baldur’s Gate 3 Xbox Series X|S Port Releases On December 6

Baldur’s Gate 3 has had multiple release dates over time, with the PC version coming first on August 3, 2023, followed by the PlayStation 5 edition that made landfall early in September. Out of the big three, this has left out a port for the Xbox Series X|S consoles, but regarding just that, sources close to me have revealed that the tentative release date for the RPG on Xbox platforms is December 6.

That said, this is still an expected release date, and the contacts whom I cross-checked with all confirm that December 6 is what Larian Studios has targeted for now. In the unlikely scenario that playtests, which are currently underway for the Xbox Series X|S port of the game, turn up something critical that needs to be addressed, this launch date could shift to a later point in December, or early 2024. 

Two days ago, Larian Studios’ CEO Swen Vincke made a post on X (previously known as Twitter), reassuring fans that Baldur’s Gate 3 for Xbox Series X|S is still scheduled to be released this year and that it’s being “actively playtested.” Moreover, players can expect seamless cross-save progression between Steam and the Xbox Series consoles, Swen confirmed earlier in the year.

For those who missed it, Baldur’s Gate 3 couldn’t launch on Xbox systems earlier due to Microsoft heads wanting there to be uniformity between the Series X and S versions of the RPG. As per Larian, the issue persisted in getting split-screen co-op to work on the Series S, which because of the console’s hardware, ended up as a bottleneck for a full-fledged Baldur’s Gate 3 Xbox release. 

We’ve run into some technical issues in developing the Xbox port that have stopped us feeling 100% confident in announcing it until we’re certain we’ve found the right solutions–specifically, we’ve been unable to get splitscreen co-op to work to the same standard on both Xbox Series X and S, which is a requirement for us to ship,” said Larian Studios in a statement to IGN in February, 2023. 

Fast-forward to August, Swen Vincke posted that a mutual conclusion with Phil Spencer was reached — much to the relief of fans — and that split-screen functionality is no longer a requirement for the Xbox Series S. This made it possible for Larian to keep Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox port on track for 2023, and now, if things go according to plan, the game will see its launch on Xbox Series X|S early in December. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been nothing short of a commercial success so far, even without releasing on all major platforms. The Belgian Embassy in China posted on Weibo back in August, confirming that the RPG has sold over 5.2 million units on PC alone. Combine that with a swath of positive reviews, including one of eXputer, where Huzaifah rates it 5/5, and you’ve got yourself one brilliant turn-based RPG to dive into.