Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe Editions Show People Are Still Hungry For A Dying Gaming Trend

Summary Larian Studios releases physical discs for Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe Edition, catering to fans who value game preservation.

Digital-only releases are becoming more common, causing concerns about game preservation in the industry.

Even with the convenience of digital releases, there is still a strong argument for the importance of physical media.

The release of Baldur's Gate 3's Deluxe Edition has shown there's still an appetite for a dying trend in gaming: Physical media. After years in Early Access on PC, Larian Studios' RPG saw a full release last year and also came to consoles digitally. The title received incredibly high critical acclaim, winning many Game of the Year awards from the likes of The Game Awards, DICE, The Game Developers Choice Awards, The Golden Joystick Awards, and most recently, BAFTA, and even making its way onto Screen Rant's "Best Games of All Time" list.

As is often the case with major game releases, Larian released a digital Deluxe Edition of Baldur's Gate 3 upon its launch on PC and PS5, with plenty of in-game content and downloads of the soundtrack, artbook, and character sheets. The studio also released a Collector's Edition with more physical bonuses, such as a 25cm Mind Flayer vs. Drow battle diorama, a loth map of Faerûn, a 160-page hardcover art book, and more. Unfortunately, despite the physical content available, the version of the game included was the digital Deluxe Edition, which may have disappointed those who were hoping for a disc version of the game, particularly on console.

Related Baldur's Gate 3's Successor Might Look Very Different (& That's A Good Thing) The next game from Larian Studios could take a totally different direction from Baldur's Gate 3, and fans should actually find this exciting.

Baldur's Gate 3's Deluxe Edition Will Release The Game On Physical Discs For PS5 And Xbox Series X

With 2 Discs On PS5 And 4 On Xbox

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In November 2023, a new Deluxe Edition of Baldur's Gate 3 was announced with both physical and digital content for players to enjoy. Unlike the Deluxe Edition released in August 2023, the major difference here is the inclusion of disc versions of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The PS5 version comes with two discs while the Xbox version of Baldur’s Gate 3 has four - with this being increased from the three discs that were originally announced. The PC version of the game has a Steam serial key and a disc with an installer. All versions of the Deluxe Edition also come with a physical version of the Original Game Soundtrack, composed of three CDs.

The Xbox Series S doesn't have a disc reader and won't be able to play the physical version of Baldur's Gate 3.

These physical versions of the game have proven to be extremely popular with fans, with many flocking to pre-order them. Larian Studios announced in a new post on X that PC versions of the game had already started shipping and the PS5 orders for Europe and Oceania were beginning to ship at the start of May, but production issues have delayed the shipping date further for the North America PS5 orders and all Xbox orders, with the studio looking to get them all sent at some point in May.

While these production issues weren't specified, it does show the upside to a digital release, in which Larian didn't have to worry about shipping times and could get the title in the hands of players far quicker. Despite this, it's clear that there's still an appetite for physical versions of games, especially for those who care about game preservation.

Related Easily Missed Baldur's Gate 3 Details Show Larian's Dedication To D&D Lore Baldur's Gate 3 crams in plenty of homages to the rich history and lore of Dungeons & Dragons, and one approach that it takes is particularly cool.

Physical Collectors' Editions With No Physical Disc Are Becoming More Common

Spider-Man 2 And God Of War Ragnarök Are Two Recent Examples

Custom Image by Glenn Bunn

Much like Baldur's Gate 3's original Collector's Edition, the practice of releasing a physical version of a title with statues and other content, but no physical version of the game itself has become more common. This has been the case with PlayStation-exclusive titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and God of War Ragnarök, which both had physical releases of the game on disc in a "Standard Edition", but only included digital codes as part of their far more expensive Collector's Editions.

Bizarrely, both Collector's Editions in question contained exclusive Steelbook display cases designed for discs as part of their physical extras. Considering how most of the people who would spend extra to buy a Collector's Edition would likely also be a physical media collector, this has seen some backlash from the community, especially as those disc versions do exist elsewhere and could have been put into the bundle with just the Digital Deluxe Edition's bonus DLC coming on a code, much as both titles did with their predecessors, God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man, on PS4.

Related Baldur's Gate 3 & Helldivers 2 Are Saving Modern Gaming As We Know It In an era of microtransactions and half-baked releases, Baldur's Gate 3 and Helldivers 2 prove Capcom has no excuse for DD2's release state.

Digital-Only Releases Have Been Steadily Increasing Over The Years

PC Is Already Almost Entirely Digital

Digital-only releases of games have been steadily increasing over the years, which has become a topic of contention for some players. With various launchers on PC such as Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy and more, that platform has gone almost entirely digital already, while some of the most recent consoles still launched with disc readers - or in the case of PS5, gave players the option to choose between a disc or digital only version, with its 2023 refresh taking this choice further by letting customers purchase a disc reader separately for the digital version of the console.

Titles such as Remedy Entertainment's long-awaited sequel Alan Wake 2 only saw a digital release, with many physical media collectors who owned the original Xbox 360 game or its 2021 PS5 and Xbox Series X/S remaster on disc left frustrated they couldn't display its sequel alongside it. As reported by Eurogamer, Alan Wake 2's creative director Sam Lake and game director Kyle Rowley explained their reasoning behind going digital-only, stating that it was to allow Remedy "more time to polish the game to an acceptable level", rather than rushing for a Gold master and updating with many patches afterward.

Alan Wake 2 was extremely well received by those who played it, and did win Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction at The Game Awards. Unfortunately, Remedy Entertainment's recent Business Review for January-March 2024 suggested that the game hasn't turned a profit 6 months since its launch. While Remedy previously stated that there were "no plans" for a physical release of Alan Wake 2 on disc, a later physical launch like Larian has done for Baldur's Gate 3 could help turn the tide and win back those physical media fans who were disappointed by the game's original digital-only release.

Titles can be pulled from digital storefronts extremely easily these days, as is evident by recent issues with the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, which stopped players from being able to purchase an entire console's library digitally, and caused many physical versions of 3DS titles to increase in price on the third-party resale market. This can also happen over ownership rights, as was the case with the infamously de-listed Silent Hills teaser PT, which was pulled from the PlayStation Store and can't be re-downloaded after Kojima's falling out with Konami. Therefore, it's clear why some players are growing more concerned about the state of game preservation.

While digital releases are convenient for those who don't want a collection of discs filling up their homes, there is still a strong argument to be made as to why the industry shouldn't abandon physical releases entirely, ensuring that players can still access a title long after a game or even a console's servers have shut down. This doesn't need to happen upon a game's original launch, if developers are worried about development timelines, but the success of post-launch physical releases such as Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 or the work of companies like Limited Run Games working on physical releases of predominantly digital-only titles such as Grounded in limited quantities shows that there is a market, and this can be done at a later date, potentially including DLC content as the Game of the Year re-releases would do to make for a more full package.

Source: Larian Studios/X, Eurogamer, Remedy Entertainment, Limited Run Games