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Early Access
Early Access, frequently abbreviated as EA, is a funding and development model used by video games.
As like their two previous releases, Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian Studios used the Early Access model for Baldur's Gate 3, releasing an Early Access version of the game's first act on October 6th 2020.
Players could help with development by providing feedback or reporting bugs in-game.
Larian released multiple patches for Early Access, fixing bugs and changing or adding content, sometimes based on community feedback.
Timeline
2020
- February
27: Gameplay reveal at PAX East.
- August
25: Early Access is announced to be launched on September 30th.
- October
6: Early Access is launched.
7: Hotfix #1 is released.
8: Hotfix #2 is released.
9: Hotfix #3 is released.
13: Patch 1 is released.
27: Patch 2 is released.
30: Hotfix #4 is released.
- December
2: Patch 3, first in a line of tens of GBs in size and save-breaking Patches is released. This patch focused on stability and added options for pacifist players.
8: Hotfix #5 is released.
15: Hotfix #6 is released.
2021
- February
25: Patch 4 is released. Druid class is added alongside an improvement on cinematics, stability and multiple Quality of Life features.
26: Hotfix #7 is released.
- March
4: Hotfix #8 is released.
23: Hotfix #9 is released.
- April
15: Hotfix #10 is released.
- May
12: Hotfix #11 is released.
- July
15: Patch 5 is released. A patch bigger in size than the fourth one, this update improved and changed multiple systems users sent feedback about: mainly the camping and dice rolling system, besides adding point-and-click barks, background goals and cinematics.
22: Hotfix #12 is released.
- August
5: Hotfix #13 is released.
24: Hotfix #14 is released.
31: Hotfix #15 is released.
- October
6: Early Access becomes one year old.
14: Patch 6 is released. A patch bigger in size than the fifth one, this update added the Sorcerer class alongside the Grymforge region and a big graphical update. Also, the typical bug-fixing and stability improvements.
21: Hotfix #16 is released.
28: Hotfix #17 is released.
- November
16: Hotfix #18 is released.
- December
2: Hotfix #19 is released.
2022
- February
15: Patch 7 is released. It adds the Barbarian class along with Improvised Weapons, UI redesign, over 700 improved cinematics and more.
22 Hotfix #20 is released.
- March
3: Hotfix #21 is released.
16: Hotfix #22 is released.
- April
7: Hotfix #23 is released.
- July
7: Patch 8 is released. Its main additions were the Bard class and Gnome race.
8: Hotfix #24 is released.
12: Hotfix #25 is released.
20: Hotfix #26 is released.
29: Hotfix #27 is released.
- August
8: Hotfix #28 is released.
- September
13: Hotfix #29 is released.
- October
6: Early Access becomes two years old.
- December
8: Larian Studios announces at the Video Game Awards the release date of the full game, August 2023, with this trailer.
14: Patch 9 is released. It adds the Paladin class, a revamped Reaction system, and the level cap is increased to 5. It is revealed this to be the last content update for Early Access in preparation for the final release on August 2023.
22: Hotfix #30 is released.
2023
- January
17: Hotfix #31 is released.
25: Hotfix #32 is released.
- February
23: Release date for the full game is announced. Baldur's Gate 3 is planned to release on August 31, 2023. PS5 is also announced as one of the platforms, with this trailer.
- June
29: The PC release date is moved to August 3, 2023 instead of August 31, while the PS5 date is delayed to September 6. The level cap is announced to be 12; Dragonborn, Half-Orc, and Duergar are announced as playable races; Monk is announced as a playable class, and multiclass is confirmed; Karlach is announced as a Origin Character while Halsin and Minthara are promoted to Companions; new difficulty levels, Spells, Feats, and all release subclasses are announced.