Stadia says Baldur's Gate 3 will be out this year

Swen Vincke
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

At first glance, the latest Stadia Community Blog update isn't the most exciting bit of news you're likely to see this week. It lists five more games coming to the service at some point during the spring and summer, none of which strike me as likely world-beaters: Lost Worlds: Beyond the Page, Stacks on Stack (on Stacks), and Spitlings—all "First on Stadia" releases—plus the Serious Sam Collection (my pick of the bunch) and Panzer Dragoon.

Once you get down into the text, though, it gets more interesting. "You’re already looking forward to Doom Eternal, Get Packed, Orcs Must Die! 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 and many more games coming to Stadia this year," it says. "Now, get set to explore the inner workings of a child’s memories, or leap into arcade chaos with your friends with a trio of titles making their debut on Stadia this spring and summer... before they land anywhere else. First on Stadia."

The relevant bit in there, which you may have caught, is "Baldur's Gate 3 … coming to Stadia this year." Up to this point, Baldur's Gate 3 hasn't been given any sort of release date: Steam lists it as TBA, and our own speculation is that it's still quite a way off. It was only announced in June 2019 and, all due respect to Divinity: Original Sin 2, is Larian's most high-profile project yet, and not something to be rushed. But there it is.

Is it accurate? Larian told PCGamesN, "We haven’t announced a release period, and were included in that lineup email in error," and when I inquired, hoping that I might connect with someone less committed to maintaining PR discipline, I received the identical statement. Fair enough as far as it goes, but "included in error" doesn't necessarily mean that it's inaccurate, just that it's not supposed to be there. And Larian has very conspicuously not said that it's not coming this year, which means that it might. Unless it doesn't.

But it might! In case you'd forgotten (as I had), Larian teased in January that "something's brewing" in Baldur's Gate 3, which will be revealed on February 27—just under two weeks away. Perhaps we'll learn more then.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.