You Can Manipulate an In-Game Newspaper in Baldur’s Gate 3 to Cover Your Deeds

In their latest pre-launch live stream, Larian Studios unveiled exciting new details about the upcoming full version of Baldur’s Gate 3. CEO Swen Vincke and the development team showcased the enhanced character creation system, explored the game’s diverse romance options (including a unique encounter with a druid-turned-bear), and introduced the Dark Urge, a mysterious playable Origin character driven by an insatiable desire to kill.

Aside from these major highlights, Larian also shared smaller yet equally fascinating features of Baldur’s Gate 3. For instance, Vincke discussed a dynamic newspaper system for the game’s titular city, which can be influenced and manipulated by players:

“We have a newspaper system within the city that reacts to your actions and covers the events you’ve been involved in. What’s intriguing about the newspaper is that you can actually tamper with it. You can break into the printing house and swap stories around, leading to some surprising consequences.”

Your actions and the contents of the newspaper will directly impact how the city’s inhabitants perceive you.

Although seemingly less significant, the inclusion of a newspaper system contributes to the immersive nature of the game world. Larian’s commitment to expanding upon the already impressive reactivity seen in Divinity: Original Sin 2 is evident. Players will have the freedom to seamlessly explore the city and engage with numerous non-playable characters in the lively Sword Coast metropolis.

In terms of roleplaying options, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers an astonishing array:

• 11 playable races (Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Orc, Tiefling, Drow, Githyanki, and Dragonborn) & 31 subraces
• 12 classes (Barbarian, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard, Monk, Warlock, Paladin, Cleric, and Wizard) and 46 subclasses
• Over 600 spells and actions
• 7 playable protagonists with their own unique narratives (known as Origin characters)
• 170 hours of cinematic content
• 2 million words of dialogue and script

The game also allows for multiclassing and class/stat resetting. After its initial release on Steam Early Access in October 2020, Baldur’s Gate 3 has already sold over two million copies. The full release has been moved up from August 31st to August 3rd on PC to avoid overlap with Bethesda’s Starfield. The PlayStation 5 version will launch on September 6th, while the Xbox Series S|X version is currently delayed due to technical issues related to implementing split-screen multiplayer on the Series S.