Larian Studios has announced Baldur's Gate 3: Deluxe Edition, which packages an extensive selection of bonus goodies up with a physical disc copy of the game.
This Deluxe Edition includes a physical copy of the game on your platform of choice, plus a bunch of what Larian is calling "physical feelies" in the grand CRPG tradition. Those goodies include a soundtrack CD collection, cloth world map, poster, two fabric patches, and 32 stickers - plus a big box "created in the style of the original series." You'll also get all the digital bonuses typically included in the existing Digital Deluxe version.
"This experiment is what we feel the future of physical media looks like, at least for us at Larian," publishing director Michael Douse says in a press release. "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 fuck-ton of discs."
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However you measure your tonnage, this edition does include a lot of discs - two on PS5 and three on Xbox Series X and S, plus three more discs for the CD soundtrack. On consoles, the game is fully "playable on disc." On PC you do get a DVD, but it simply includes a custom installer to help you redeem a Steam key.
Baldur's Gate 3: Deluxe Edition is scheduled to ship across all platforms in the first quarter of 2024, and is available for pre-order on Larian's website at a price of $79.99 / €79.99.
There was already an even bigger Collector's Edition package for Baldur's Gate 3, but while that included a bunch of physical goods it didn't actually include a copy of the game itself on disc - purely a download code on PS5 or PC. Nonetheless, that Collector's Edition pretty quickly hit prices over $1,000 on eBay, and is still commanding a mighty premium from resellers even now, months later.
Larian recently confirmed that the Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 is "on track" to launch in December, with the proper release date to be revealed at The Game Awards.
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