Baldur’s Gate 3 Split-Screen Co-Op On Xbox Series S Is a Challenge, But It’s a Must, Says Larian Boss

Baldur’s Gate 3 has yet to receive a release date on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and the reason why the third entry in the role-playing game series will not launch on Microsoft’s consoles at the same time as on PlayStation 5, and PC is its split screen co-op mode, which is proving to be a challenge to get to run properly on Xbox Series S.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Larian Studios founder Sven Vincke talked about the Xbox Series S version of the game, saying that the decision to remove split-screen co-op hasn’t been made yet, although getting it to run properly is proving to be a challenge. The team is working hard on it, but work is yet to reach a satisfying point, as the team is finding new optimization issues as they fix others, having to deal with the situation as they go through the motions. Ultimately, Sven Vincke has faith in his team, as they managed to get Divinity Original Sin 2 to run on Nintendo Switch, and if it can be done, they will make it happen.

While the decision to take out split screen co-op from Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t been made yet, Sven Vincke doesn’t want to release the game without it, feeling it is a must-have for the experience. As Microsoft demands feature parity, removing it from the Xbox Series S would also mean it wouldn’t be available on Xbox Series X too, compromising the experience on the more powerful console as well. So, if the game will indeed come to Microsoft’s current generation consoles complete with split-screen co-op, it will be interesting to see how the team will have solved the issues deriving from the limited capabilities of the Xbox Series S.

Baldur’s Gate 3 launches on PC on August 3rd worldwide and on PlayStation 5 on September 6th. The game will launch on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on a yet-to-be-confirmed release date.