“That’s exciting, but also maybe the least exciting thing in Patch 5, to give you an idea of how exciting it is,” says Larian Studios’ Michael Douse.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s fifth major post-launch patch is set to launch sometime before the end of the week, and based on everything that developer Larian Studios has said about it so far, it looks like it’s going to be quite a significant update. And while full details on what it will bring to the acclaimed RPG aren’t available just yet, Larian’s director of publishing Michael Douse has confirmed that performance improvements will be included.
Taking to Twitter, Douse revealed that Patch 5 will bring performance improvements to both PC and PS5 versions of Baldur’s Gate 3, and that, interestingly enough, Larian was able to make those improvements thanks to the work it has been doing to optimize the RPG’s upcoming Xbox Series X/S version.
Earlier this month, Larian Studios CEO and game director Swen Vincke revealed that thanks to work on the game’s Xbox Series S-specific optimizations, Baldur’s Gate 3 had seen a 10% reduction in RAM usage and a 34% reduction in VRAM usage.
Meanwhile, Douse has also said that the aforementioned performance adjustments are actually going to be “the least exciting thing in Patch 5”, which, according to him, is going to bring several features to the game that Larian has been working on for a while. More details are expected to arrive in the near future, so stay tuned.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox Series X/S version will release in December, with a release date set to be announced at The Game Awards on December 7. The game will also get a physical launch in Q1 2024.