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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Writing on Twitter, Larian’s director of publishing Michael Douse seemed to imply that the issues relating to launching the game on Microsoft‘s platform may not be resolved until next year.

“We have quite a few engineers working very hard to do what no other RPG of this scale has achieved: seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op on Series S,” Douse wrote. “We hope to have an update by the end of the year.”

In June, speaking to IGN, founder and creative director Swen Vincke was asked why the game is coming to PC in August and PS5 in September, but still doesn’t have a date on Xbox Series X/S.

According to Vincke, the issue lies with a Microsoft policy that requires games to have the same gameplay features on both Xbox Series X and Series S.

While Series S games often have a lower resolution, frame rate or level of detail, this is considered acceptable by Microsoft given that it’s less powerful than the Series X. What isn’t considered acceptable, however, is the removal of modes or other features.

The issue, then, as confirmed by the studio in February, is that the split-screen co-op mode runs perfectly well on Xbox Series X but is struggling to run to an acceptable level on Xbox Series S.

The team is reportedly hesitant to remove split-screen co-op altogether (thereby making the Series X version less feature-rich than the PS5 one), but Microsoft’s policy also means it can’t just remove it from the Series S version and keep it in the Series X version.

Explaining the complexity of the co-op mode, Vincke explained: “You’re very free in what you do, more free than people expect. That means you can run into a really big city that’s much more dense than people expect.

“You can do all kinds of craziness, so it requires a lot of optimisation. On certain platforms we’re just faster than on other platforms. It just takes us time. That’s the reality of development.

“It’s not that we planned this. Our plan was that we wanted to have a simultaneous release. But we’ve been on this game for a long time. It’s a really big game. The amount of things you can do in it is insane. I think people will be surprised when they see everything.

“There’s constraints we have to overcome, so we just work on them. Some take more time.”

Vincke also conceded that there ultimately may have to be some “compromises” made to release the Xbox version, but chose not to go into further detail.

Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t come to Xbox before 2024, Larian suggests | VGC

The upcoming RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 may not release on Xbox until 2024, it’s been suggested.

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[nightmare-slain]

Did anyone think it would? I mean PS5 has to wait a month to get it after PC and there's no chance of another release this year.

 

[systemr123]

That damn Sony buying exclusivity again damnit! Poor Xbox… Damn you Sony!!!! Oh wait…

 

[emivita]

"Vincke also conceded that there ultimately may have to be some “compromises” made to release the Xbox version, but chose not to go into further detail.

 

[acm2000]

Honestly had no idea this series even sold well on consoles, very pc centric games.

MS should just let them ship the S version without split screen, hardly anyone would even notice.

 

[Captain Toad]

Well, duh.

 

[Skifi28]

Fucking Jim Ryaaaan!!!!11one

 

[Thief1987]

But I thought these ms engineers are wizards and will force this game to work with MAGIC.

Honestly had no idea this series even sold well on consoles, very pc centric games.

MS should just let them ship the S version without split screen, hardly anyone would even notice.

And then other devs, I'm sure there will be plenty, will demand the same treatment.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Jimmy Bartholemule Bryars is to blame

 

[MidGenRefresh]

2 more days!

 

[Evil Calvin]

LOL. It doesn't take 6+ months to 'fix' split screen co-op.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

LOL. It doesn't take 6+ months to 'fix' split screen co-op.

What split screen games have you made on the S?

 

[Zheph]

Just drop the resolution as advertised

 

[genesisblock]

This whole S series is beginning to to look like and albatross on Xbox's neck. As we're approaching mid-cycle, games are only going to get more ambitious and MS would have to decide if this "parity" business is worth persuing at the cost of goodwill to the consumers.

 

[geary]

He also talked here ~min 46. Direct interview with Swen.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

Parity

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Microsoft making a rod for their own back with the Series S in this instance. Xbox Series X owners are understandably going to be pissed off if features are held back because of the S.

I’m assuming that it will only be a matter of time before more games have to either remove features entirely or drop support for Series S and X because of the parity wall.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

Not a good look MS. I'm unwilling to wait on an undisclosed release date.

I wanted it on XSX for multi-player and now my hand has been forced to get it on PS5.

 

[Guilty_AI]

games are only going to get more ambitious

 

[SmokedMeat]

Big boo boo on Microsoft’s end, dragging their main console down to accommodate its weaker sibling.

 

[Poltz]

Man, this is rough. The Series S is weaker but you can't cut features for it.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I’m assuming that it will only be a matter of time before more games have to either remove features entirely or drop support for Series S and X because of the parity wall.

Tbf, this with BG3 is basically worst case scenario. AAA production game + split-screen with full freedom of movement/action, a feature that has been historically problematic to implement due to memory limitations + set in a dense open world city where half of the NPCs can be interacted with and every building can be entered on.

 

[Poltz]

Tbf, this with BG3 is basically worst case scenario. AAA production game + split-screen with full freedom of movement/action, a featured that has been historically problematic to implement due to memory limitations + set in a dense open world city where half of the NPCs can be interacted with and every building can be entered on.

Halo Infinite too..

 

[Fools idol]

I cant imagine there is a huge audience for cRPG's like this on consoles anyway. no? It's quite a PC dominated market segment.

 

[Edgelord79]

Ruh roh.

 

[Krappadizzle]

If it was as simple as dropping the resolution that many people bilked the Series S, this wouldn't be a problem. It's a classic example of people saying having a set hardware target is the better idea than two sku's with seperate capabilities.

Sucks for the X though as holding something back for an arbitrary reason gotta sting. Game is really set to raise the bar on the CRPG genre in a big way and I couldn't be more excited for it. I'd even argue too that the game really should be shipped with all features, it's so very unique having a co-op experience like this, I can't really think of any RPG with a scale like this that has co-op. And it's fun as shit too, my wife and I have had a great time with the co-op and I can't wait to jump in this weekend.

 

[STARSBarry]

Just remove split screen from the Xbox version completely. There you go feature parity for the series console, that's what all the Series S players want right?

 

[genesisblock]

That's how it works, mate. Otherwise we won't get next-gen consoles.

 

[MrTired]

LOL. It doesn't take 6+ months to 'fix' split screen co-op.

Halo Infinite says otherwise.

 

[Guilty_AI]

That's how it works, mate. Otherwise we won't get next-gen consoles.

 

[solidus12]

I remember when all the media and paid shills were criticizing PlayStation for not releasing a less powerful version of the PS5 like Series S, which was considered a genius move, forcing Sony to make a statement:

I also remember how the same group of individuals stated that Series S was on par or would outperform the PS5.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

What’s gonna happen is the Series X version is gonna have split-screen cut out, in order to hit parity with Series S. But then people are gonna bitch that the Xbox version is compromised (which it would be). There’s no win here. And Xbox can’t allow Series S games to start releasing without same features as X. The whole sales pitch of the split user base from the get go was one could do high-end games at 4K and the other could do high-end games at 1080p. They can’t start the slippery slope of Series S versions having features stripped out and there being content differences. That would be very bad for business. The whole point of Series X|S was that it’s the same games on both, just a fidelity and performance jump on the X that could potentially outperform PS5.

They made their bed this generation. They gotta see it through.

 

[Zheph]

I cant imagine there is a huge audience for cRPG's like this on consoles anyway. no? It's quite a PC dominated market segment.

Played all divinity on consoles and I intend to do the same for BG3

 

[Musilla]

 

[systemr123]

I remember when all the media and paid shills were criticizing PlayStation for not releasing a less powerful version of the PS5 like Series S, which was considered a genius move, forcing Sony to make a statement:

I also remember how the same group of individuals stated that Series S was on par or would outperform the PS5.

The cpu on the series S is faster than the PS5. PS5 never stood a chance . And the bigger brother eats monsters for breakfast. Apparently it doesn’t play a lot of video games though.

 

[Roman Empire]

Series S is a big no-no in my book. I don't like this parity bullshit MS is forcing on studios. Series S is a weak, period.

 

[Evil Calvin]

What split screen games have you made on the S?

Awesome response. ....I don't need to have made one. It's not a FPS, it's a point, click turned-based game. Turn down the resolution, framerate and other specs. It's not that difficult.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Awesome response. ....I don't need to have made one. It's not a FPS, it's a point, click turned-based game. Turn down the resolution, framerate and other specs. It's not that difficult.

10/10 answer

 

[GHG]

Notice how they specifically call out the Series S.

The chickens have well and truly come home to roost.

 

[The Inventor]

I'm speechless. Do the heck you want to do with the S, but as a Series X owner, I'm extremely disappointed. Dammit.

 

[Skifi28]

Awesome response. ....I don't need to have made one. It's not a FPS, it's a point, click turned-based game. Turn down the resolution, framerate and other specs. It's not that difficult.

And what if split screen requires more memory than the series S has available? Having a console with gimped memory and requiring feature parity is a pretty bad combination.

 

[Banjo64]

Awesome response. ....I don't need to have made one. It's not a FPS, it's a point, click turned-based game. Turn down the resolution, framerate and other specs. It's not that difficult.

You should tell Microsoft, who have been helping.

Microsoft Engineers Helping Get Baldur's Gate 3 Split-Screen Working on Xbox Series S - IGN

IGN speaks to Larian to reveal why Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series X and S is taking so long.

www.ign.com

We've certainly had support from Microsoft,” he said. “We had support from the ATG group. They've been doing great. They've been helping a lot.

 

[gaming_again]

Damn. Western CRPGs 'feel' as if they should be on the Xbox hardware to me.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Series S was a mistake

 

[Mr Moose]

Awesome response. ....I don't need to have made one. It's not a FPS, it's a point, click turned-based game. Turn down the resolution, framerate and other specs. It's not that difficult.

Heh.

 

[drganon]

Damn. Western CRPGs 'feel' as if they should be on the Xbox hardware to me.

I wouldn't feel that bad for them. They bought out every other one.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Heh.

...okay.......'shouldn't' be that difficult

 

[Three]

Microsoft making a rod for their own back with the Series S in this instance. Xbox Series X owners are understandably going to be pissed off if features are held back because of the S.

I’m assuming that it will only be a matter of time before more games have to either remove features entirely or drop support for Series S and X because of the parity wall.

This is worse than features now, it's games being held back for XSX users. Don't worry about them being pissed though, have rarely seen an xbox fan actually hold anyone to account for the Series S. They will just continue to complain about how those must be exclusivity deals or lazy devs.

 

[Slicker than your average]

LOL. It doesn't take 6+ months to 'fix' split screen co-op.

You already tried pushing it's Sony fault narrative in the other thread .

Devs themselves saying they're having issues getting it work and MS sending people to help. Why can't you accept it?

But so tell us how they can fix split screen for your plastic box.

 

[NEbeast]

When do they just drop co-op? There comes a point where you're not going to make all the extra money/work back from the series s anyway.