Highlights
- Evidence suggests that the first two Baldur's Gate games may be coming to Xbox Game Pass, based on recent push notifications received by subscribers.
- These iconic RPGs are highly regarded for their real-time combat and influential gameplay mechanics, including an open world, real-time battles, and intricate storytelling.
- Previous instances of push notifications accurately predicting game additions to Xbox Game Pass increase confidence that the Baldur's Gate games could be added in the near future.
The first two Baldur's Gate games might be on their way to Xbox Game Pass, some newly surfaced evidence suggests. The possibility of BioWare's iconic RPGs joining Microsoft's ever-growing game library emerged shortly after the tech giant confirmed half a dozen new additions to Xbox Game Pass for August 2023.
Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn are widely considered as some of the best CRPGs with real-time combat ever created. The second game, in particular, proved to be extremely influential on the genre, not least because it was one of the first Western RPGs to combine a vast open world, pausable real-time battles, and an intricate plot boasting elaborate character development.
The seminal RPGs could soon arrive on Xbox Game Pass, as suggested by the fact that some subscribers recently received a push notification claiming that the games are already available to play. And though neither Baldur's Gate nor Baldur's Gate 2 can currently be found on Xbox Game Pass, the notion of them leaking via a premature notification is well within the realm of possibility. Namely, that is precisely how Shadow Warrior 3's Xbox Game Pass launch leaked back in January, some five weeks before the FPS was actually added to the subscription service.
Something similar happened back in mid-July, when another such notification prematurely signaled the arrival of Maquette on Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft confirmed that launch within the next 24 hours, less than a week before the former PlayStation console exclusive hit Xbox Game Pass.
Both of those recent examples inspire confidence that this newly emerged notification is another early sign of things to come for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. That limited track record also suggests that the first two Baldur's Gate games could arrive on Xbox Game Pass in the coming weeks.
On the other hand, the Xbox Series X and Series S ports of Baldur's Gate 3 are still without an official release date, which could possibly impact the timing of Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn's Xbox Game Pass debuts.