Baldur’s Gate 3 director explains why the RPG was never going to be on Xbox Game Pass

Swen Vincke, the director of Baldur’s Gate 3 and CEO of Larian Studios, has spoken out about the role-playing game’s lack of Xbox Game Pass release, saying that it was a decision made "from the get-go."

In a new interview with IGN, Vincke was asked if Xbox had offered a sum of money in an attempt to get the game on its subscription service, to which he replied: “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.”

Although he said that it was a “sensitive” question, Vincke elaborated: “We are in the business of making a game that has a beginning, middle, and an end. 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.”

Furthermore, he noted that there are no microtransactions in the RPG either, giving players “what they pay for,” which is “a big meaty game.”

“So I think that should be able to exist as it is,” he continued. “This is what allows us to continue making other games.”

In the same interview, Vincke stated that while the studio is “working on other things,” it’s still going to “continue to support BG3.” While he didn’t go into specifics of what fans can expect, he said that fixes for bugs and other issues will continue to be being rolled out. “The downside of these very large, complicated games is that this is something you have to deal with,” he added.

Baldur’s Gate 3 arrived on Xbox Series X|S on December 7, directly after its Game of the Year win at The Game Awards 2023. The RPG also received its fifth major patch at the end of November, which added extra epilogue content, a new difficulty mode, and much more.

For more games like Baldur’s Gate 3, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best story games, as well as the best RPGs.