Last week, developer Larian’s critically acclaimed D&D-based RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 finally found its way to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S consoles. It was a long wait for Xbox fans, but the results seem to be worth it.
There was some speculation before the Xbox launch of the game that Baldur’s Gate 3 could also show up on Microsoft’s Xbox Games Pass. Even after the Xbox version was released, some fans believed that Microsoft would make a special deal with Larian to add the game to its Xbox Games Pass lineup, at least for a few months.
Well, it looks like that is not going to happen. In a new interview about the game on IGN, Larian CEO Sven Vincke was asked this very specific question: “How big of a dump truck of money did Xbox come to your door with to get it on Game Pass?”. In response, Vincke stated:
Oh, we always said from the get-go, it wasn’t going to be on Game Pass, it’s not going to be on Game Pass. These are sensitive questions. Kat. So look, we are in the business of making a game that has a beginning, middle, and an end. We made a big game, so I think there’s a fair price to be paid for that, and I think that that is okay. We don’t charge you any micro-transactions on top of it, so you get what you pay for. Upfront it’s a big meaty game. So I think that should be able to exist as it is. This is what allows us to continue making other games.
That would seem to put this matter to rest. Xbox players will have to purchase Baldur’s Gate 3 instead of getting it for a lot less money via Xbox Game Pass.
Most of the interview concentrates on a discussion of the various main characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 but there is some discussion about future support for the game, with Vincke stating that Larian is “going to continue to support BG3” with future patches and bug fixes.