In brief: Fans of the CRPG genre can mark an important date in their diaries: August 31. That's the day Baldur's Gate 3 will finally arrive as a full release, just under three years after it appeared on Steam's early access program. In addition to announcing the launch date, developer Larian Studios also revealed that the game's minimum PC requirements have been increased.

When Baldur's Gate 3 entered Steam Early Access in October 2020, fans of the classic CRPG series were ecstatic. It's been a long (nearly) three-year wait, but excitement at Larian's game finally getting released this year put Baldur's Gate 3 on our Most Anticipated Games of 2023 list.

The developer revealed the August 31 launch date at Sony's State of Play event yesterday. There was also a new trailer featuring the familiar voice of J.K. Simmons, known for his roles in Spider-Man, Whiplash, and Invincible. Though I'll always remember him as Vernon Schillinger in the brilliant 90s prison drama Oz.

Simmons plays General Ketheric Thorm in Baldur's Gate 3, a seemingly invincible necromancer leading an army of the dead toward the city of Baldur's Gate. He's one of the three main antagonists that players will face in the game.

In a separate post, Larian said that Baldur's Gate 3's "graphical fidelity and complexity has improved quite a bit as it's grown throughout Early Access." As such, the minimum PC hardware requirements have been increased, though they're still pretty forgiving.

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel I5 4690 / AMD FX 8350
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 / RX 480 (4GB+ of VRAM)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 150 GB available space

The recommended specs aren't too bad either, especially compared to some modern games. A Plague Tale Requiem, for example, asks for an RTX 3070 for 1080p / 60 FPS gameplay.

Recommended:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel i7 8700K / AMD r5 3600
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia 2060 Super / RX 5700 XT (8GB+ of VRAM)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 150 GB available space

Other reveals at Sony's event included BG3 crossplay for Mac, PC, and PS5 at launch. The game will also have local split-screen co-op, as well as Digital Deluxe and Collector's Editions that come with lots of extras.