Baldur's Gate 3 launches August 2023 with the return of two beloved party members

Baldur's Gate 3 is officially set to launch in August 2023, and a new trailer at The Game Awards has shown off some familiar faces and locations.

Developer Larian Studios still hasn't announced a specific day for the launch of Baldur's Gate 3, but the August window narrows down the game's vague '2023' release target quite a bit. The game was previously scheduled to leave early access in 2022, but even upon making that announcement Larian noted that there are "no guarantees" in game development.

Baldur's Gate city appears in the trailer, as do two familiar faces from the original games: the fighter/druid Jaheira and the beloved ranger Minsc, who makes his entrance by violently escaping the jaws of a mimic. Larian confirmed in a press briefing that you'll be able to recruit them as allies in Baldur's Gate 3 if you choose - though in the studio's tradition of wide-open role-playing options, they could become your enemies, too.

We'll see a lot more detail about Patch 9 as part of the Panel from Hell stream on December 14, which will introduce the next playable character class. In our briefing, Larian hinted that this would likely be the last major patch for Baldur's Gate 3 in early access - you can expect more technical updates leading up to August 2023, but the devs are now focused on finishing the game. Sadly, that does mean that Jaheira and Minsc won't appear in-game until the proper launch.

Alongside the trailer and release month, Larian also unveiled the impressive collector's edition, which is limited to 25,000 units worldwide. Priced at $269.99 / €259.99, it features a massive diorama, cloth map, proper character sheets for the origin characters, a giant metal D20, a 160 page hardcover art book, and a cloth map. The first 15,000 units will also feature Magic: The Gathering Battle for Baldur's Gate booster packs. Pre-orders should be open as you read this, with the package itself to be delivered by release day.

Baldur's Gate 3 is already looking like one of the best RPGs around, but you can find plenty more to enjoy at that link ahead of the game's 1.0 launch.