This year’s game of the year, Baldur’s Gate 3 is easily one of the greatest games of all time with many believing it to be the best game of the year winner yet. The uber successful RPG released initially on PC on August 3rd and Later on PlayStation 5 on September 6th. Xbox players didn’t get their hands on the title until after this year’s game awards, on December 7th with many expecting a big announcement about the release during the game awards themselves. Microsofts bread and butter for the past couple of years has been it’s incredible Xbox game pass service which provides a huge library of games for a monthly subscription fee. There are debates among the players whether this is a good service for the overall industries health, with many pointing out that studios don’t get as much revenue as they would if their games did not launch on game pass, but at this point it’s really the only thing that Xbox has going for it. In an extensive IGN interview with Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke, after he was asked if Baldur’s Gate 3 would be releasing on Game Pass he had this to say.
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, – Swen Vincke
Many Xbox players were disappointed to hear this but it makes the most sense. Baldur’s Gate 3 is simply one of the most dense games ever created and Larian studios simply need all the money they can get in order to continue creating incredible experiences. With a game as unique as this, with seemingly unlimited playing time it’s very difficult to argue that its $70 dollar price tag isn’t worth it, and to say that it should be in a monthly subscription service. When asked why specifically the game wouldn’t be on game pass Mr. Vincke said this.
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, – Swen Vincke
This isn’t to say the title won’t potentially release in the future on the service, but for now Larian Studios is well within their rights to stave off from subscription services. Many developers who have titles in the service claim that it has hurt sales and that players are sometimes not invested enough due to the ability to try games and leave 10 minutes in. It also just makes sense for Baldur’s Gate 3 to not be in game pass as there are no other Larian Studios titles on the service.