Baldur's Gate 3 Is In Development For Xbox, But There's A Series S Snag

Baldur's Gate 3 isn't avoiding Xbox Series X|S because of a console exclusivity deal with Sony for PlayStation 5. Instead, the Xbox omission stems from a developmental issue regarding split-screen support on Series S.

Developer Larian Studios cleared the air about Baldur's Gate 3 on consoles after the RPG was unveiled it's heading to PS5 during Sony's State of Play event yesterday. "We've had an Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 in development for some time now," Larian Studios said in a statement.

"We've run into some technical issues in developing the Xbox port that have stopped us feeling 100% confident in announcing it until we're certain we've found the right solutions--specifically, we've been unable to get splitscreen co-op to work to the same standard on both Xbox Series X and S, which is a requirement for us to ship."

So Baldur's Gate 3 hasn't been ruled out as coming to Xbox Series X|S. Though that's still up in the air. Additionally, this isn't the first time there have been complaints about Series S. Studios have reportedly asked Microsoft to drop the Xbox Series S launch requirement because it holds back games.

There is a power and performance difference between Xbox Series X and Series S. For example, the former sports 12 teraflops against 4 teraflops for Series S. There isn't a similar issue when developing for PS5.

For now, Baldur's Gate 3 will arrive August 31, 2023, on PS5 and PC--with Larian noting that includes Mac and GeForce Now. The developer added it "will announce support for additional platforms if and when we're ready." GameSpot has contacted Microsoft for comment.