After three years of successful early access, Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost here. The sequel to the influential tabletop CRPG series promises to provide a personalized experience for everyone with hundreds of hours of gameplay. With the release date a few days away, many people are confused about when the game will launch and when the preload begins. So, what’s the release date and time of Baldur’s Gate 3? Also, can you preload the game? Let’s find out.
Fortunately, Larian Studios have been vocal with their launch plans. Hence, read on to know exactly when you start your journey through the lands of Forgotten Realms on August 3rd.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Release Time (Countdown)
As previously mentioned, Baldur’s Gate 3 will have its official launch on August 3rd, 2023 for PC. PS5 users will have to wait until the 6th of September to try out the game, as confirmed by Larian Studios.
Moreover, through an official tweet, we know when Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch in major countries, confirming the release date and time for the game. Below, we have included the tweet for your convenience:
On 3rd August, 2023
- 8:00 AM Los Angeles
- 11:00 AM New York
- 11:00 AM Quebec
- 12:00 PM Rio De Janeiro
- 4:00 PM Dublin
- 5:00 PM Gent
- 11:00 PM Kuala Lumpur
- 8:30 PM India
On 4th August, 2023
- 12:00 AM Tokyo
- 1:00 AM Sydney
- 3:00 AM Auckland
As you can see, for some countries the Baldur’s Gate 3 launch happens on the 4th of August because of the time zone differences. Hence, players in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan can try the game out on August 4th on PC.
Can You Preload Baldur’s Gate 3 Before Launch?
If you are here to know whether you can preload the complete Baldur’s Gate 3 game, then you are in for disappointment. The short answer to that question is a simple no. However, there is a reason why Baldur’s Gate 3 is not available for preload.
You see the game launched in early access in October 2020. During this point, the players had the option to finish the first act in its entirety and create characters spanning various classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. As such, the game is technically “out,” followed by active development. It was feature ready, but not content-ready.
Hence, the game is technically out, and you can download and play the early access. However, doing a traditional preload of the game will mean that the developers making a workaround to ensure players cannot access the 1.0 content before the date. Which, in all honesty, is a lot of time and effort. And I would much rather have Larian work on content instead of worrying about preloading for Baldur’s Gate 3.
