The beautifully chill startup screen in Baldur's Gate 3 came "pretty late" in development after "SO MANY versions" were tested, says publishing lead

One of the first things you see when booting up Baldur's Gate 3 is an elevated view of the city, and one of the first things you hear is wind gently whipping through trees, the chirping of the region's fauna, and not a whole lot else. It's the startup screen to Baldur's Gate 3, instructing you simply to "press any key to continue," or, alternatively, just enjoy the incredibly peaceful scene, as I often do for a few moments before clicking through.

I'm not the only one who appreciates this little slice of serenity in Baldur's Gate 3, as X user @cheersitskatie recently gushed about the "underrated" screen, describing it as, "literally so perfect and relaxing i could keep it playing in the background all day."

Larian's Very Online publishing director, Michael Douse, noticed katie's tweet and shared this interesting little factoid: "There were SO MANY versions of this over the years if I remember correctly the final one came in pretty late!" said Douse.

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I really shouldn't be surprised that Larian's extraordinary attention to detail extended all the way to this tiny little pre-main menu screen, but I'm thankful that it did. I'll often have a YouTube video of the scene running in the background while I work or write, and in case you have yet to discover this wonderful relaxation/concentration tool, well, thank me later:

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