Baldur's Gate 3's Early Access Isn't Meant For Everyone
Larian Studios, developer of Baldur's Gate 3, made waves recently by announcing their eagerly anticipated early access of the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons game would require paying for the full $60 cost of the game up front. As the early access is only a fraction of the intended final version of Baldur's Gate 3 and with no release date in sight, many have balked at this entry point. But Larian Studios has made it clear that they are targeting a specific type of gamer with this early access, and they have no problem with others waiting for the game to be released in a completed state.
Baldur's Gate 3 is an upcoming RPG video game, and the latest in a series of games set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Larian Studios is boarding the series for the first time after successfully developing the critically-acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel. Baldur's Gate 3 will allow for solo play or up to four multiplayer. After some delays, Baldur's Gate 3 is getting ready to enter early access beginning September 30th, 2020.
During the recent Panel From Hell, Larian Studios laid out the kinds of gamers they were looking for their Baldur's Gate 3 early access. "I know who we're not targeting, it's the person who wants a finished polished game. They should wait," said Creative Director Swen Vincke. Instead, Larian Studios is hoping to attract people "who really want to be part of development, who just want to give us as much feedback as they can, who will play over and over." Baldur's Gate 3 is a long way from final development, and they want people to experiment as much as possible so they can see what is and isn't working.
Early access can have a whole range of goals. Sometimes, it's a marketing ploy to help gain traction ahead of a game's release. Sometimes it's a way for smaller studios to gather a little extra money to get their game over the finish line. Baldur's Gate 3, however, seems to be very much focused on using early access to gather as much data as possible as the developers refine the game. Larian Studios is looking to gather people who will push the game in directions they didn't anticipate. They want the kind of person who will play the limited hours available, then start the game over with a whole different character and try whole new approaches. Larian Studios is hoping those same players will share feedback on forums, reddit, and other places so that they can gauge what is and isn't working in Baldur's Gate 3.
The early access content for Baldur's Gate 3 is reported to contain roughly 20-25 hours of content - and that's if a player goes through it only once. Baldur's Gate 3's early access is so massive that it contains nearly 600 characters. Larian Studios has stated it will be impossible to see all the quests in Baldur's Gate 3 in one playthrough because certain choices could close off access to certain quests and characters. If, as Larian Studios hopes, people play the early access multiple times, they'll be getting dozens of hours of game time, and will have access to the full 1.0 version of the game when it launches. The downside, of course, is that players are essentially paying for the honor of being QA testers. Still, Larian Studios has made it clear that they are fine with players waiting. Baldur's Gate 3 early access is meant for a very specific kind of player, and those who don't want a rough product are better off waiting for the final game down the line.
Source: Larian Studios
Baldur's Gate 3 releases in Early Access on PC and Google Stadia on September 30th, 2020.