Baldur’s Gate 3 continues an impressive run through to its launch weekend and has now become the most pre-ordered game on the PlayStation store. At the time of writing this post, Baldur’s Gate 3 Digital Deluxe Edition was #1 on the list of pre-orders on the PlayStation store, beating Madden NFL 24 which previously held that position.
The fact that Baldur’s Gate 3 has toppled the likes of Spider-Man 2, Mortal Kombat 1, and EA Sports FC 24—without the flamboyant adverts and reveals that the other games got—shows how much it has been able to satiate the yearnings of players.
The game recorded over 500,000 concurrent players on launch day, according to reports by SteamDB. As of the time of writing this post, the highest number of concurrent players that Baldur’s Gate 3 has recorded is over 800,000.
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No doubt, the stellar performance of the game on PC was going to spur console gamers to look forward to its release. The game will come to PS5 on 6 September 2023, while the date for its Xbox Series X|S release is yet to be announced.
Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t had many reviews on Metacritic. This is understandable considering the massive size of the game. Most reviewers will need to invest a huge amount of time in the game to come out with a credible review. Nevertheless, the Metascore at the time of this report was 95, the highest of any game this year. That score will likely change as more reviews trickle in.
“Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fine contender for one of the best video game RPGs ever made,” wrote Techradar. “It’s the most ambitious RPG out there, and the painstakingly accurate rendition of Dungeons & Dragons will delight fans. A must-play, even if some frustrations with D&D’s format might grate.”
Factors that propelled Baldur’s Gate 3 to impressive numbers
From the numbers, Baldur’s Gate 3 has already outperformed lots of AAA games released this year. In terms of the number of concurrent players, the only game that is still ahead of Baldur’s Gate 3 this year is Hogwarts Legacy which recorded 879,308 concurrent players. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 is not far away with 814,666 concurrent players.
As mentioned earlier, the success and glowing reviews of Baldur’s Gate 3 by PC gamers was always going to rub off on console gamers—hence the spike in pre-orders. However, it will be interesting to see if the game will maintain its #1 spot on the PlayStation store right up to the launch day.
Whenever the Xbox release date is announced, we will likely experience the same FOMO euphoria too. However, some reports hinted at the possibility of the Xbox Series X|S version of the game stretching into 2024.
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The success of Baldur’s Gate 3 is largely hinged on its incredible story, well-crafted expansive world, and original score. Also, with the absence of Dragon Age 4 and Mass Effect 5, most fans of Dungeons & Dragons-style gameplay are turning to Baldur’s Gate 3 to fill the vacuum.
“Baldur’s Gate 3 is nothing short of a masterpiece.,” wrote Gamers Heroes. “The story is incredible, the world gorgeous and immersive, voice-over and writing of the highest quality, an amazing soundtrack, everything comes together in near perfect harmony. It’s not only the best RPG of the year, it’s the RPG of a generation.”
Also, making the game available on macOS possibly helped to push up the numbers. It is believed that there are over 100 million Mac users. However, developers continue to ignore this large group of users when creating their games.
With the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios can dream even bigger, and probably generate enough revenue to bring that bigger dream to life.
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