Baldur's Gate 3 dev secretly wrote the D&D RPG's release date on a whiskey bottle in a bar 5 years ago, but somehow "nobody found it" and it "never leaked"

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"Maybe I did it again? Who knows"

Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Nearly two years have passed since Baldur's Gate 3 released in August of 2023 and became a pillar of the RPG genre – but apparently, its launch date was out in the wild long before then.

Larian Studios publishing director Michael "Cromwelp" Douse reveals as much in an online post, admitting that he sneakily wrote the Baldur's Gate 3 release date down on a random bottle of whiskey in a bar five whole years ago – pre-pandemic and all. "5 years and a pandy ago," writes the lead, "I wrote the BG3 release date on this bottle of whisky and let it hang at the bar, and nobody found it."

According to Douse, the not-so-leak leak isn't a problem, legally speaking, as nobody ever came across the secretly written release date. He also admits that, unsurprisingly, he was in fact drunk when he wrote on the whiskey bottle. "I was drunk," says the publishing director, "but it never leaked, so in retrospect it's funny and not a legal issue." He then jokes: "Maybe I did it again? Who knows."

Who knows, indeed. I'm now going to be wondering whether there's another Baldur's Gate 3 (or other Larian title, with the "two games" devs have previously discussed coming, including a project codenamed Excalibur) release date floating around somewhere in the world… in some bar, or otherwise. There's no telling, as Douse's only response to his original post gives no further information.

"Nice to be back after 5 years drinking from the mythical bottle of secrets," reads his one reply. Attached to the lead's words is a picture of said bottle, a Japanese whiskey from Suntory, with the words "Baldur's Gate 3 release date on rear" beautifully marked in what appears to be Sharpie over its label. I can only imagine what the world would've looked like had someone discovered it…

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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