Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe Edition is coming to PC with a slew of physical extras

[midian182]

Something to look forward to: Most people have spent hundreds of hours exploring the incredible world that is Baldur's Gate 3, sleeping with companions and seeing just how many people they can murder. But even if you've had your fill of the RPG, the cool extras that come with Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe Edition, and the fact it's one of the greatest games of all time, could make it a compelling purchase when the set arrives next year.

The Baldur's Gate 3 studio has announced that the Deluxe Edition PC version will be shipping in the first quarter of 2024. The game's massive size means PS5 owners will be playing it across two discs, while Xbox Series X and S owners will have three discs to contend with. The PC version, meanwhile, has a custom installer on its DVD and comes with a Steam key for those without optical drives, which is most people these days.

The $80 Digital Deluxe Edition, now available to pre-order, also has a ton of extras. These include a Mind Flayer poster, Flaming Fist and Absolute patches, 32 stickers, a double-sided cloth map, and three CDs featuring the original game soundtrack.

As this is a physical edition, buyers also get an oversized game box that will bring a nostalgic tear to those who remember shelves filled with chonky boxes bearing the names of PC classics from the 90s and 2000s. Larian says it is created in the style of the original series' boxes, complete with golden framing, matte foil, and a foam insertion.

In addition to the physical goods, Baldur's Gate 3: Deluxe Edition includes all the items from the Digital Deluxe Edition, including:

• Divinity Item Pack
• Bard Song Pack
• Exclusive Dice Skin
• Paintings from Rivellon
• Adventurer's Pouch
• Digital OST
• Digital Artbook
• Digital Character Sheet

"This experiment is what we feel the future of physical media looks like, at least for us at Larian," said Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian, in a statement. "We spent the last few months learning how to do it from scratch and put everything we learned from the Collector's Edition into what we hope is unbeatable value for what we're considering our standard physical version going forward. If it works out, we'll keep doing it this way."

"We understand the value of physical media, and while there are clearly increasingly significant challenges when it comes to the archiving of games, we truly believe it's worth experimenting, even if it means a f*ck-ton of discs."

The first-quarter timeframe for the Deluxe Edition of Baldur's Gate 3 means it will ship before the end of March. It's only available from the Larian store, and this isn't a Collectors' Edition so it won't permanently sell out.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100898-baldur-gate-3-deluxe-edition-coming-pc-ton.html

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Not worth buying twice.

The PC physical copy isn't an actual physical copy of the game. It's just a disc with a downloader app for a key on Steam - you still need to download the game.

Physical copy would have the actual game on the discs to download from - whether you link to Steam or GoG after that point for verification purposes and abilities to download updates, that's a different matter.

Also, releasing a "physical copy" upwards of 6 months after the game was even released is kind of crappy. They expect folks that already spent $60 on a digital copy, be it from Steam or GoG, to spend an extra $80 for a physical copy that's not even a real physical copy? F off, Larian. Either give a true physical copy or keep your crap.

I adore physical media. An actual physical copy means I have it in my possession and I can use it wherever and however I want. The closest gaming platform that does this is GoG - you can download the game files on your side, save them and then you're free to install/uninstall on whatever system you want and you don't have to have a digital DRM platform to run the game.

To this day I still track down and purchase physical PC games (recently purchased 3 of them a couple weeks back). As much as I've been enjoying BG3, I sure as hell won't be spending extra money for some trinkets.

 

[Puiu]

Not worth buying twice.

The PC physical copy isn't an actual physical copy of the game. It's just a disc with a downloader app for a key on Steam - you still need to download the game.

Physical copy would have the actual game on the discs to download from - whether you link to Steam or GoG after that point for verification purposes and abilities to download updates, that's a different matter.

Also, releasing a "physical copy" upwards of 6 months after the game was even released is kind of crappy. They expect folks that already spent $60 on a digital copy, be it from Steam or GoG, to spend an extra $80 for a physical copy that's not even a real physical copy? F off, Larian. Either give a true physical copy or keep your crap.

I adore physical media. An actual physical copy means I have it in my possession and I can use it wherever and however I want. The closest gaming platform that does this is GoG - you can download the game files on your side, save them and then you're free to install/uninstall on whatever system you want and you don't have to have a digital DRM platform to run the game.

To this day I still track down and purchase physical PC games (recently purchased 3 of them a couple weeks back). As much as I've been enjoying BG3, I sure as hell won't be spending extra money for some trinkets.

Let's not exagerate. People who don't own it already will have a great time with the included extras. I don't yet own BG3 (mostly because I didn't have time for it) and this looks really juicy. And let's be honest, 80$ is very decent for such a pack.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Let's not exagerate. People who don't own it already will have a great time with the included extras. I don't yet own BG3 (mostly because I didn't have time for it) and this looks really juicy. And let's be honest, 80$ is very decent for such a pack.

To each their own.

Even if I still didn't own the game I wouldn't drop a dime on this "physical copy" set. You're getting a box of stuff with a digital key. They can polish a turd all they want, it's still a turd.

 

[Puiu]

To each their own.

Even if I still didn't own the game I would drop a dime on this "physical copy" set. You're getting a box of stuff with a digital key. They can polish a turd all they want, it's still a turd.

I was never a big fan of physical disks. Every single one I owned stopped working after a few years from natural wear. I'm not a collector, I can't be bothered to store them properly for long term storage. Although I do not throw them around trying to break them, I just used them normally.

And you are calling one of the best games ever made a "turd". Especially when the console versions do have proper physical disks. I think you are forgetting how this game is "monetised" and what you get when you buy it.

The era of physical is over. Time to move on and focus on improving digital copies.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I was never a big fan of physical disks. Every single one I owned stopped working after a few years from natural wear. I'm not a collector, I can't be bothered to store them properly for long term storage. Although I do not throw them around trying to break them, I just used them normally.

And you are calling one of the best games ever made a "turd". Especially when the console versions do have proper physical disks. I think you are forgetting how this game is "monetised" and what you get when you buy it.

The era of physical is over. Time to move on and focus on improving digital copies.

Wow. You must have done something wrong with your discs. I've got games 20+ years old, even ones scratched to hell due to carelessness of my younger brother (that's a different story for a different time) that still work.

I didn't call the game a turd. I was calling their effort at putting forth a fake physical copy for PC a turd.

The problem with the era of physical being over is that every single person is F'ed because they no longer have control over what they purchase. If people are okay with that, sure, that's fine and their choice. But it's sad when people can't see and understand this and they argue that digital is better. It's not, it's just convenient when the developers want it to be for you. Once it is no longer in their interest to let you play a 10 year old game because they have new stuff they want you to buy, then it becomes a problem because they turn off their servers or they remove access to the game from their digital library. So, if you think that's okay and you're content with it, then that's good for you. I don't find it okay and I don't like it which is why I don't support it.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I was never a big fan of physical disks. Every single one I owned stopped working after a few years from natural wear. I'm not a collector, I can't be bothered to store them properly for long term storage. Although I do not throw them around trying to break them, I just used them normally.

And you are calling one of the best games ever made a "turd". Especially when the console versions do have proper physical disks. I think you are forgetting how this game is "monetised" and what you get when you buy it.

The era of physical is over. Time to move on and focus on improving digital copies.

- IMO, I think there was a missed opportunity to actually put the game on the disk here. No harm in doing it, they can throw in a Steam key too so people can keep a copy of the game in their digital library as well.

 

[Puiu]

Wow. You must have done something wrong with your discs. I've got games 20+ years old, even ones scratched to hell due to carelessness of my younger brother (that's a different story for a different time) that still work.

I didn't call the game a turd. I was calling their effort at putting forth a fake physical copy for PC a turd.

The problem with the era of physical being over is that every single person is F'ed because they no longer have control over what they purchase. If people are okay with that, sure, that's fine and their choice. But it's sad when people can't see and understand this and they argue that digital is better. It's not, it's just convenient when the developers want it to be for you. Once it is no longer in their interest to let you play a 10 year old game because they have new stuff they want you to buy, then it becomes a problem because they turn off their servers or they remove access to the game from their digital library. So, if you think that's okay and you're content with it, then that's good for you. I don't find it okay and I don't like it which is why I don't support it.

Yeah I'm ok with it because I'm already invested a ton into the major PC stores. If Steam or GOG closes I'm out of many hundreds of games anyway.

And where the hell would I keep so many games in my home? It's just not realistic. Don't want a steam key? Don't buy it. Pirate it like everybody else. I consider it a viable solution for circumventing anti-consumer practices.

I'm not on the side of any publisher or consumer, I'm my own best ally and I do what suits me best.