Can you pre-load Baldur's Gate 3 on PC?

Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios' upcoming dark fantasy role-playing game, is releasing on PC in just a couple of days. Instead of its previously planned September 2023 release, Baldur's Gate 3 is arriving a month early on PC, with the PlayStation 5 version being scheduled to come out on the original release date - September 9, 2023.

And while the game's early release on PC might be a joyous occasion, some concerns regarding the pre-download might be plaguing players. This also extends to those who will be transitioning from the early access version to the full release, which will require additional downloads.

Unfortunately, the upcoming role-playing title, despite its massive file size on PC, will not allow pre-loading.

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Baldur's Gate 3 will not be available for pre-load on PC ahead of its official release

Baldur's Gate 3 is already available as an early access title, as such, it is somewhat understandable why Larian Studios isn't allowing pre-loading the game ahead of its full release. However, having the option to either download the early access or final release version could've been helpful for many new players.

Given it already comes with a massive file size of roughly 122 gigabytes on PC, it will take a lot of time to download the entire game, especially for players with a slower internet connection. In a community update, Larian Studios also confirmed that the early access version will receive a massive update after the full release.

This also hints towards the early access version saves not being compatible with the final release version, which can be a deal breaker for some players. Given the game was available for a significant amount of time on early access, not having the option to migrate saves to the final release version is definitely an oversight on Larian Studios' part.

Fortunately, Baldur's Gate 3 does support cross-save compatibility across all versions of the game, including the Steam/GOG variant for both Windows and MacOS, as well as the PlayStation 5 version (which releases in September 2023). If you plan to get the game and try out the early access version on PC, make sure you meet the official system requirements:

Minimum

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel I5 4690 / AMD FX 8350
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 / RX 480 (4GB+ of VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 150 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD required

Recommended

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel i7 8700K / AMD r5 3600
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia 2060 Super / RX 5700 XT (8GB+ of VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 150 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD required

Baldur's Gate is scheduled to be released on August 3, 2023, for Windows PC and MacOS (via Steam and GOG.com).