2023 has been a year of colossal game releases and it is showing no signs of slowing down. While we have seen the likes of Final Fantasy XVI, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4, Diablo IV, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, we still have yet to see the release of two major games: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield. Back in March, Starfield was given a release date of September 6, 2023, on Xbox Series S/X and PC. On the other hand, Baldur’s Gate 3’s release date recently shifted, moving up on PC, but with Baldur’s Gate 3 on PS5 being delayed to the same day as Starfield.
With that being said, could this be a sign of some console war competition going on? Was the PlayStation version of Baldur’s Gate 3 pushed back a week to compete with the Xbox exclusive?
When Does Baldur’s Gate 3 Release?
Baldur’s Gate 3 was originally slated to release on August 31, 2023. It is now scheduled to come out on August 3, 2023, on PC. Baldur’s Gate 3 on PS5 is now slated for release on September 6, 2023. We don’t have to speculate as to why there was a move for the PC version because Larian Studios, the developer behind the upcoming RPG, released a press release explaining it. While the company doesn’t specifically say that the PC change was because of Starfield, it does say the title “will be released at a time where you’ll have more time to play it.” This clearly refers to the fact that both titles are huge, so an earlier release for Baldur’s Gate 3 will give people time to get into the game before Starfield starts taking up gamers’ schedules.
As for Baldur’s Gate 3 on the PS5, Larian wrote “We don’t want to compromise on quality, and feel it would be a shame to downscale to 30fps or make other compromises to hit an arbitrary date.” The game will be launching at 60fps on PS5, and according to Larian’s statement, the developer will need the extra week for Baldur’s Gate 3 to be in tip-top shape on the console.
However, there is quite a bit of speculation across social media that the date change for the PS5 version may have been a strategic move by Sony and Larian to provide the console with some competition against Starfield on the day of its release. When all is said and done, it is quite a peculiar coincidence that the release date for Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC would be moved up, while the PS5 version would be pushed back exactly one week to the day of Xbox’s big exclusive release.
While such a move isn’t completely out of the question, it is probably unlikely, especially considering Larian Studios moved up the PC release to get out of Starfield‘s way. PlayStation also doesn’t necessarily need a big game to release the same day as Starfield, because it already has two big exclusives this year. Final Fantasy XVI released to rave reviews in June, while just over a month after Starfield releases, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be swinging onto PS5. Back in 2020, it was announced that 2018’s original Marvel’s Spider-Man had 20 million copies sold, so Sony won’t be hurting for sales come October.
But there’s no need to worry – you can play all of these games when they release later this year. Just don’t stress too much about your backlog.
