Baldur’s Gate 3, the sensational role-playing title from Larian finally landed on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles earlier this month but will not be coming to Xbox Game Pass. The game saw multiple delays coming to Microsoft’s consoles and the developers had to remove some features so that the game runs smoothly on the consoles.
Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has now spoken about the availability of the game on Game Pass during an interview and said that it will not be coming to the subscription service any time soon.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Is Not Coming to Xbox Game Pass
Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on August 3rd this year after being in early access for a couple of years and has been highly praised by players and critics alike. The game won multiple awards at The Game Awards 2023 including the coveted Game of the Year. The game was released following the awards but many still wondered if the game would be coming to Game Pass.
Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian has now stated that the game will not be coming to Game Pass and players will have to pay if they want to play it. In an interview with IGN, Vincke said that the game was never going to be on Game Pass, adding that they have made a big game and players can pay a price for it that will help them to make other games. Vincle 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. 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.
It is truly a “big game” as Vincke said. The game’s main story takes around 55-60 hours and it could take players up to 145-150 hours for a completionist run. Moreover, players have been playing the game several times as the story changes every time the players make a different decision in the game, compelling them to play it again and again.
It is important to know none of the Divinity titles are available on the subscription service and now Baldur’s Gate 3 will also not be coming. Vincke called the question about the game on Game Pass “sensitive” and said that the game has a beginning, middle, and end. He also touched upon the fact that the game does not have any micro-transactions for any additional earnings.
This isn’t the first that Baldur’s Gate 3 and Game Pass are the point of discussion as the leaked documents from the FTC vs Microsoft trial showed that the company wasn’t much interested in paying the developer to include the game for the Game Pass release and didn’t think that it would be as big as it is now. However, it was soon proven wrong as the game was an immense success upon release.
Game Pass has always been a divisive subject for developers as many see it as a great opportunity to allow players to play games without having to separately pay for it which usually benefits developers, but some also think of it as “value destructive.” The growth of Game Pass has also slowed after 2022 and it somewhat improved with the availability of Starfield on day one but Microsoft still has a lot to work on if they want BG3 to the subscription service in the future.
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