When it comes to games on the horizon, there’s few that can generate as much buzz as upcoming titles Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3. While both are roleplaying games with exclusivity to PC and just one console each (Xbox Series X|S for Starfield; PlayStation 5 for Baldur’s Gate 3), there’s not much the two share in common, as the former is a space exploration game made in the easily recognizable Bethesda style and the other is a more traditional fantasy RPG rooted in the lore of Dungeons & Dragons.
And despite the obvious differences, and odd trend seems to be happening across social media, with fans of both unreleased games seeming to pit them against each other, and with each side propping its game up as the superior product.
Starfield has been coming in hot for a while now—after all, Bethesda has been responsible for some of the most successful and long-lasting RPGs of the past couple of decades, and its fans have been starved without a new mainline Fallout game in more than seven years or an Elder Scrolls title in eleven. Meanwhile, the pre-release popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3 has been higher than a lot of people had anticipated, and that unexpected momentum only seems to be increasing its fans’ expectations.
While we’re hesitant to use the term “console wars,” the commentary of a lot of gamers is calling out this unlikely rivalry for being a classic example of Xbox and PlayStation fans exerting their chosen console’s dominance over the competition.
As the above Tweet shows, Baldur’s Gate is winning the popularity contest, for now. However, there are other factors at play. Baldur’s Gate 3 was originally planned for release on August 31, but its PlayStation 5 release was recently pushed back to September 6—the same day Starfield is set to launch on both Xbox Series X|S and PC. The tradeoff to the PlayStation version being pushed back by a week is that the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will come out even earlier, on August 3 (less than a month from the time of this article). Games tend to see an increase in interest as their launch dates near, so it’s not surprising that the PC release date of Baldur’s Gate 3 coming so soon is coinciding with a bump in attention.
Furthermore, the first of Baldur’s Gate 3’s five acts has been playable on PC in early access since October 2020, so fans of the game have had plenty of hands-on time to know what they’re getting into. Meanwhile, while Bethesda has pumped a lot of effort into Starfield’s PR campaign, we still haven’t seen so much as a playable demo, and if the company’s track record is any indicator, no one will get their hands on the game until its official launch.
Console exclusivity has become an ever-increasing hot-button topic in the gaming community, especially as Xbox parent company Microsoft continues to struggle in legal battles across the world to expand its reach in the industry, even though it’s in a solid third place behind Nintendo and Sony.
As things stand, both games are charging ahead at full momentum, despite infighting between the brand-specific sects of the gaming community. And with the mixed reaction to Final Fantasy 16, we’ll just have to wait and see which game, if any, ends up as the year’s biggest blockbuster RPG.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Gaming News Click Here
