[Bloomberg] Baldur's Gate 3: Over 2.5m Sales in Pre-Release

[ethomaz]

Pre-Release means the Early Access.
It helped them finish the game while the scope of the project expanded.

So far, its prospects are looking good. The early buzz from players and reviewers has been mostly positive, and for months the game, which is landing during an era of heightened, popular interest in all things D&D, has hovered high on the top-selling charts on Steam. Piers Harding-Rolls, research director at Ampere Analysis, said he expects Baldur’s Gate 3 to be a hit, citing the strong fan reactions to an early-access version and noting that “preorders have been robust.”

The ambitious scope of Baldur’s Gate 3 was made possible by another unusual move. In October 2020, Larian put the game into early-access mode, allowing players to buy and play through an unfinished version of its first act. More than 2.5 million people went on to purchase the game, which allowed it to stay financially viable even as the scope expanded and the development dragged on. Whereas most big-budget video games shy away from such moves because it can set a bad first expectation and muddle the final release, the decision worked for Baldur’s Gate 3, Vincke said, by letting players experiment with the game’s characters and systems without spoiling the entire story.

The Strange Story Behind ‘Baldur’s Gate 3,’ One of the Year’s Biggest Releases

Larian bulked up while building the epic Dungeons & Dragons-themed game. It will need to sell many copies to justify the growth.

www.bloomberg.com

To be fair really thinking in big numbers for the final release.
Way over 5 million PC alone at launch.

 

[flaccidsnake]

I suspect these guys got to run away with a decent chunk of Stadia money too.