At long last, Baldur's Gate 3's physical PC Deluxe Edition has begun making its way into fans' hands, and for anyone who loves filling their shelves with games, this one is an absolute beauty. Especially if you're someone who already owns boxed editions of other classic Dungeons & Dragons RPGs.
While we've known for a while what the physical Baldur's Gate 3 box was going to look like, we're now starting to see pictures of it pop up alongside the rest of peoples' game collections, and as demonstrated by Twitter user @PRegaind, it blends in perfectly. Seriously, it doesn't matter whether it's sat next to the other Baldur's Gate games or one of the other Forgotten Realms series, Icewind Dale – the aesthetic is on point. At first glance, you'd be hard-pushed to pick it out of the crowd in @PRegaind's picture, even though it's a totally fresh 2023 game sitting next to a whole bunch mainly from the late 90s and early 2000s.
Was very specific about what this needed to look like, feel like, etc. This picture makes me happy. What a shelf! https://t.co/KmTvtNKlYbMarch 26, 2024
Responding to this oh-so-satisfying picture, Larian Studios' director of publishing, Michael Douse, reveals that, of course, the design direction was entirely purposeful. He says: "Was very specific about what this needed to look like, feel like, etc. This picture makes me happy. What a shelf!"
Baldur's Gate 3's director, Swen Vincke, also weighed in: "It's a great box. Team did really well."
If you're a console player still hanging on for the physical Baldur's Gate 3 release, you'll have to keep waiting for a tad longer. Last week, Larian confirmed that while the PC version is shipping now, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are expected to begin shipping sometime between April and May.
"We wanted to get the console versions into the hands of players earlier, however, production issues have meant that shipping dates have been pushed back slightly," it explains. It adds that the Xbox version will include four game discs (one extra than originally planned), because the game "is that big."
No further delays are expected for the console versions, so it shouldn't be too much longer before everyone can populate their shelves with the shiny Deluxe Edition.
If you loved Larian Studios' enormous RPG, be sure to check out our recommendations for the six board games and tabletop RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 for more adventures.