Don’t expect Baldur’s Gate 3 to ever come to Xbox Game Pass, as Larian boss Swen Vincke shoots down talk of the game joining a subscription service. Vincke says this was decided before launch, and his mind hasn’t changed now that the game has finally been released on Xbox.
According to Vincke, it’s a matter of cost – Larian just doesn’t see the value in launching its game on the service. The CEO argues that this is because, unlike some other titles, Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t have any microtransactions, and therefore, stands by the current price of admission.
If you’re picking Baldur’s Gate 3 up on Xbox, be mindful of the differences between Series X and Series S. While Series X will obviously perform better, it’s also the only Xbox port that will have splitscreen co-op, as this had to be dropped from Series S.
“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,” says Vincke, speaking with IGN. “We don’t charge you any microtransactions on top of it, so you get what you pay for.”
He continues, arguing that the game’s length justifies the $60 price tag. “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.”
“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.”
This seems to very definitively rule out Baldur’s Gate 3 ever coming to Game Pass – or at least while the game doesn’t have any other avenues to make money from players. Maybe Larian will reconsider its stance much further down the line, but for now, it wants to make the most of all the attention on its CRPG. Microsoft would likely have to cough up a lot of money to change the studio’s mind a this point.
However, we already know that before launch, Microsoft didn’t see much value in having Larian’s work on its service anyway. In a leaked document, it was revealed that Microsoft was willing to pay $3 million to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Game Pass – a comparatively tiny amount of money. For reference, the same document said that Microsoft would pay $300 million for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and $250 million for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It’s wild to think that there was a time when Baldur’s Gate 3 was considered so much lesser than both of these games.
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