In a surprising confirmation over Gamescom, the CEO of Larian has confirmed Baldur’s Gate 3 will come to Xbox this year.

We don’t have a timescale for this as yet, though it’s safe to assume it won’t simship with PlayStation 5 on September 6th (or 2nd, if you’ve got the Digital Deluxe), but there had been concerns the game would slip into 2024 following the split-screen co-op issue with Xbox Series S.

However, following a conversation with Phil Spencer over Gamescom, Swen Vincke had the following to say.

Super happy to confirm that after meeting @XboxP3 yesterday, we’ve found a solution that allows us to bring Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox players this year still, something we’ve been working towards for quite some time.

— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) August 24, 2023

He follows this up by suggesting a compromise has been reached to remove the parity requisite between Series S|X platforms, which means split-screen local co-op will not be present on Series S, though it will come to Series X.

That said, online co-op will still be present in the Xbox Series S version.

All improvements will be there, with split-screen coop on Series X. Series S will not feature split-screen coop, but will also include cross-save progression between Steam and Xbox Series.

— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) August 24, 2023

This is potentially a pivotal moment for the Xbox generation. Journalists have eluded to some of the conversations they’ve had on the showfloor with developers about Series S and there appear to be many frustrations. They are finding it hard to try and bring the same game built on the X to the S as the power just isn’t there.

Xbox ruling require games to be consistent across console generations, meaning developers have to ensure ‘identical game modes are offered across console types within the generation’.

Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to be an exception to a rule, at least for now. But there’s three burning questions that come off the back of this..

• Is this a special, one-off case, for a game many believe has a real shot of winning Game of the Year so as to remove that stigma of PlayStation exclusivity many people thought it had?
• Will this be the beginning of a ‘case by case’ basis ruling for games that have feasibly tried everything to make their features work across platforms but are unable to find an easy or quick solution?
• If it isn’t, does that mean that split screen co-op will be coming to the Series S version at some point in the future?

Fascinating times indeed. But for now, let’s just enjoy the great news that Xbox players will be playing Baldur’s Gate 3 in the near future.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on Steam and will launch on PlayStation 5 beginning September 2nd, 2023.