Larian Studios has clarified the reasons for the exclusion of Baldur's Gate 3 from Xbox Game Pass, claiming that the choice was planned and not the result of a misunderstanding with Xbox. Despite technical delays, the critically acclaimed RPG made its Xbox Series X/S debut at this month's The Game awards, winning six awards, including the prestigious Game of the Year.
When IGN asked Swen Vincke, the founder of Larian and director of Baldur's Gate 3, about the potential of bringing the title to Game Pass, he stated that such an arrangement was never considered. Vincke went on to say, "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." He emphasised the studio's commitment to providing a full gaming experience with no additional microtransactions, arguing that the price model is necessary for future game development.
Larian's director of publishing, Michael Douse, defended Microsoft when leaked court documents revealed the platform holder's initial estimate of acquiring Baldur's Gate 3 for as little as $5 million on Game Pass. Despite the game's success, Douse expressed sympathy, stating that Microsoft and others experienced difficulties in projecting the game's performance. Douse admitted in a September statement,
"In their defence, so did everyone else. Same with DOS2. Comes with the genre, and the way we approach things, and the way we execute things. There just isn’t any existing data that could have told anyone how BG3 was going to perform. We just had to take giant spooky leaps."
Microsoft recently published a firmware upgrade for Xbox Series X/S targeted at correcting problems that could result in stored data loss in Baldur's Gate 3.
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