Baldur's Gate 3 is now available on Xbox, but don't expect it on Game Pass anytime soon. Speaking with IGN as part of a sweeping, spoiler-filled interview on the making of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke explained why the award-winning role-playing game won't be part of Xbox's subscription service.
"Oh, 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," Vincke said when asked whether Xbox had tried to pay the studio to put Baldur's Gate 3 on the service.
Describing it as a "sensitive question," Vincke pointed out that Larian Studios is in the business of "making a game that has a beginning, middle, and an end." He also touted Baldur's Gate 3's lack of microtransactions, which has been praised in some quarters.
"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. We don't charge you any micro-transactions on top of it, so you get what you pay for. 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," Vincke says.
Vincke isn't wrong. According to IGN sister site HowLongToBeat, a completionist run in Baldur's Gate 3 can take upwards of 144 hours. Many fans are even playing through Baldur's Gate 3 multiple times as they try unique routes like the Dark Urge.
Vincke's hard stance against putting Baldur's Gate 3 on Game Pass stands in contrast to Starfield, which was available on the subscription service from launch. The closely watched launch yielded solid returns, with Starfield being the best-selling game of September 2023 in the U.S. Elsewhere, the service's relative costs and benefits have been hotly debated, with some independent developers coming out strongly in favor of it while publishers like Take-Two called it "value destructive."
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"Oh, 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," Vincke said when asked whether Xbox had tried to pay the studio to put Baldur's Gate 3 on the service.
Describing it as a "sensitive question," Vincke pointed out that Larian Studios is in the business of "making a game that has a beginning, middle, and an end." He also touted Baldur's Gate 3's lack of microtransactions, which has been praised in some quarters.
"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. We don't charge you any micro-transactions on top of it, so you get what you pay for. 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," Vincke says.
Vincke isn't wrong. According to IGN sister site HowLongToBeat, a completionist run in Baldur's Gate 3 can take upwards of 144 hours. Many fans are even playing through Baldur's Gate 3 multiple times as they try unique routes like the Dark Urge.
Vincke's hard stance against putting Baldur's Gate 3 on Game Pass stands in contrast to Starfield, which was available on the subscription service from launch. The closely watched launch yielded solid returns, with Starfield being the best-selling game of September 2023 in the U.S. Elsewhere, the service's relative costs and benefits have been hotly debated, with some independent developers coming out strongly in favor of it while publishers like Take-Two called it "value destructive."
Baldur's Gate 3 'Isn't Going to be on Game Pass', Insists Larian Boss - IGN
In a new interview with IGN, Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke responded to questions about Baldur's Gate 3 being on Xbox Game Pass, explaining why the best RPG of 2023 won't be on Microsoft's subscription service anytime soon.
