Baldur’s Gate 3 is officially coming to consoles with its debut coming to PlayStation 5 this August alongside its PC and Mac releases. To add some extra exciting news, J.K. Simmons will be joining the cast as General Ketheric Thorm.
Larian has announced that as of today, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be making its console debut exclusively on PlayStation 5. The announcement was made during today’s State of Play event where Sony and partnered publishers as well as developers revealed their upcoming titles as well as upcoming content releases for the PlayStation family of gaming hardware.
As part of their release plans, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on PlayStation 5 as well as PC and Mac on August 31st, 2023. The next-gen RPG will also include a newly announced antagonist named General Ketheric Thorm. The necromancer who seems rather invulnerable to death and damage will be leading his army of the dead towards Baldur’s Gate. To add a bit more spice to it, Larian has also revealed that General Throm will be voiced by none other than the rather talented J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Marvel’s Spider-Man).
“Ketheric is a man with complex ambitions and motivations, so in searching for his voice, we knew we needed to work with a renowned character actor who could deliver the kind of nuanced performance we were looking for – so we decided to cast J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Spider-Man). While we expected it, we were still amazed at how much his performance helped deepen the character. We’ll introduce you to two more antagonists over the coming months – keep an eye out,” explained Larian creative director Swen Vincke in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
The console release will come with several nice little features that gaming fans are sure to enjoy, including two-player split-screen co-op or four person multiplayer online sessions. Along with the news, fans on console or PC and Mac can also enjoy controller support when it launches. The latest trailer (as seen below) will give you a general feel for how the controller support will work.
Those of you looking to add a Collector’s Edition to your collection of goodies can rejoice: It’s on its way. Same goes for PC fans. So let’s take a look at those editions outlined by Larian.
This fully digital Deluxe Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3 contains:
- Playable Bard Song Pack featuring songs from Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Exclusive in-game dice skin
- An Adventurer’s Pouch containing supplies to help you get your journey started
- Digital downloads of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Original Soundtrack, artbook and character sheets
- 72-hours early access to Act I of Baldur’s Gate 3 beginning Aug. 28, 2023 [PS5]
- As well as this pack of items inspired by the BAFTA Award-winning Divinity: Original Sin II:
- Mask of the Shapeshifter: Allows you to change race and appearance on the fly, inspired by Fane
- Cape of the Red Prince: Cloak inspired by the Red Prince
- Lute of the Merryweather Bard: Playable instrument inspired by Lohse
- Needle of the Outlaw Rogue: Dagger inspired by Sebille
- Bicorne of the Sea Beast: Headgear inspired by Beast
- Paintings from Rivellon: Discover a new collection of paintings across the Forgotten Realms
Each Collector’s Edition contains:
- A digital copy of Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition
- Custom sticker sheet
- 25cm Mind Flayer vs. Drow battle diorama
- 160-page hardcover art book
- Cloth map of Faerûn
- Set of D&D-inspired origin character sheets
- Metal tadpole keyring
- Magic: The Gathering booster pack
- Custom-engraved metal d20, plus an in-game version!
- Certificate of authenticity
Those Collector Editions will be available for pre-order at participating retailers. Also, that’s not all, by pre-ordering the Collector’s Edition, you’ll get all the contents of the previous edition, as well as a 72-hour early access to the first act of Baldur’s Gate 3. This also means, all contents will be shipping at time for launch on August 31st, 2023. So what are you doing? Let’s go save Baldur’s Gate this August!
About the Writer(s):
Dustin is our native video game reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook today.