In June 2023, it still seemed that Starfield from Bethesda was heading towards a massive “Game of the Year” hype. However, a Belgian studio, Larian, could now spoil their plans. Because one month before the release of Starfield, RPG fans are only talking about Baldur’s Gate 3, which is coming out tomorrow.
What a daring maneuver that was?
- Baldur’s Gate 3 was a game that felt like it was somehow already “over”: The game launched in Early Access in 2020. Since then, global interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 was virtually nonexistent: Between October 2020 and late June 2023, there was never a phase when Baldur’s Gate 3 was truly relevant.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 was introduced in 2020 in connection with the failed platform Google Stadia. Apparently, they placed their bets on the wrong horse: The RPG was supposed to be released on August 31, 2023, for PC and PS5. That was also a bad decision, as Starfield would arrive only one week later: Baldur’s Gate 3 was at risk of getting overshadowed in the hype surrounding the SF epic.
- The developers at Larian hastily moved the PC release date to August 3, 4 weeks earlier on June 29, and are now launching a whole month before Starfield. And this decision now looks like a stroke of genius.
Since moving up the release, they have overtaken Starfield in interest
What effects does this maneuver have? If you look at Google Trends, which reflects global search queries and thus the relevance of a video game, you see an interesting phenomenon:
- Starfield experienced a massive spike during the “Quasi-E3” in June 2023, when Bethesda held a major showcase for Starfield and presented the game in a presentation. However, after that, attention faded again.
- In contrast, Baldur’s Gate 3 overtook Starfield in global interest the moment they announced the “earlier release” and began to gain traction. Since mid-June, interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 has been steadily increasing.
Since the big release, there have been hardly any “news beats” from Starfield, while Baldur’s Gate 3 has managed to stay in the conversation consistently.
However, even now, just before the release, the peak interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 is still somewhat lower than the interest in Starfield during the major presentation.
In which countries are Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 particularly popular?
The interest in Starfield is particularly high in English-speaking areas. In Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. The Xbox, which Starfield is tailored for, is considered a typical “American console.”
The interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 is particularly huge in Scandinavia: All 4 Scandinavian countries are at the top of the search interest, with Canada in 5th place.
What about Germany? In Germany, the interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 has surged compared to Starfield more significantly than the global average: Here in Germany, Baldur’s Gate 3 has even surpassed the peak hype of Starfield before its release.
Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 try to avoid each other as much as possible
Should Bethesda be worried now? No, they shouldn’t. Starfield will be a “Day 1 in Xbox Game Pass” game. While they are also selling an elaborate collector’s edition for €300, many regular customers of Microsoft will receive Starfield “almost for free” through their Game Pass. There is no real reason for Starfield to put pressure on Baldur’s Gate 3 now.
The hot phase in which Bethesda and Microsoft will ramp up the hype will probably only begin a few weeks before release. Currently, they are not even trying to steal the spotlight from Baldur’s Gate 3 – especially since the presentation in June was a resounding success, Bethesda has many “regular customers” and the collector’s edition sold excellently.
Even though some people will likely still be attached to Baldur’s Gate 3 when Starfield is released on September 6, the games are different enough that there is room for both: Especially since Baldur’s Gate 3 will not be released on Xbox until 2024, leaving Starfield’s primary field open.
It almost seems like a deal between the two games:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 gets to have PlayStation all to itself – because Starfield, after Microsoft purchased it, will no longer be released there. Starfield was almost a PS5 exclusive title originally.
- In return, Baldur’s Gate is delaying the release on Xbox to “sometime in 2024” and will not release it, as is usually customary, parallel to the PlayStation version
That is remarkable: The “little” Belgians have really managed to capture the interest of the gaming public at just the right time.
A game that was already in early access for 3 years and seemed “somehow over” and unsexy has managed to take off again and surpass a hyped game like Starfield, which is a remarkable achievement.
Until a month ago, hardly anyone was talking about Baldur’s Gate 3 worldwide, today it is everywhere:
More about Baldur’s Gate 3:
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 worth it for you? The short check before release
