Is Baldur’s Gate 3 Finally Getting New Game+ in 2024?
- Baldur's Gate III does not have a native New Game+ feature, surprising many as the game is highly replayable.
- Fans have created their own NG+ mods for Windows, providing a temporary solution until Larian develops official cross-platform mod support.
- Larian Studios has never included NG+ in any of their games, and creating one for BG3 would require significant balance changes, making it unlikely to happen.
Larian Studio‘s Baldur’s Gate III was, undoubtedly, the breakout star of 2023’s outstanding lineup of games. Amongst the likes of Alan Wake 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom, Marvel’s Spiderman 2, BG3 managed to triumph at The Game Awards 2023, taking home several awards including the award for Game of The Year.
Since its release in August 2023, BG3 is still going strong. Although it is a large and diverse game with lots to do and lots to explore, fans who have completed the game want to do second run of the game without losing all their hard-earned equipment and inventory; essentially a New Game+. So let’s discuss if there is a New Game+ option in BG3.
Table of Contents
What is New Game+ Mode?
The New Game+, commonly known as NG+, mode in games is a mode where you start over a new game, but carry over your equipment, stats and inventory from the first playthrough. Usually, NG+ is available after beating the game for the first time. The term New Game+ was first used by the 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger (RIP Akira Toriyama), but the concept had been in use in earlier games like Super Mario Bros.
NG+ mode is commonly native to RPGs as they offer multiple endings, and players can explore these endings without losing all their hard-earned skills and equipment. In some rare cases, NG+ can be used to expand on the narrative, or even alter the main narrative as in several instances of the Castlevania series.
In modern gaming, NG+ is a luxury, and is usually added after the games release, after several month of prior announcement.
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Is There A New Game+ Feature in Baldur’s Gate III?
Unfortunately, no, there is no native New Game+ feature in Baldur’s Gate III. This is surprising as Baldur’s Gate III is a very replayable game, with many fans starting over from scratch to explore new outcomes and endings. Most of the fanbase has been requesting Larian Studios for a NG+ feature for quite some time now, but there has been no word from them on this topic as of yet.
How To Play New Game+ on Baldur’s Gate III?
Even though NG+ may not be natively available in BG3, that doesn’t mean fans haven’t found their own solutions. There are several mods available for free that introduce an NG+ mode the game. Naturally, these mods may introduce some unexpected bugs and glitches in the game, so you’ll need to read up on each mod’s problems, along with the features it’s offering.
However, it’s worth mentioning that these mods are only available for devices running BG3 on the Windows platform, so console players will have to wait for official support. However, this may be about to change as Larian has recently announced that they are developing a cross-platform mod support tool, so console players can enjoy the best mods for the game.
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Will There Ever Be A New Game+ Feature for Baldur’s Gate III?
While mods may do a fairly good job, a native feature is what every gamer wants, especially in the case of console gamers, who can’t use mods for now. And despite considerable fan demand, it seems that the request for a New Game+ mode has fallen on deaf ears over at Larian Studios. Here’s why it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get a NG+ mode in BG3:
1. Larian has never added New Game+ in any of their games
While BG3 may have put Larian Studios under the spotlight, it’s worth noting that Larian is an old studio. Baldur’s Gate III implies that there are prequels to this game, and that is indeed the case, with Baldur’s Gate II and Baldur’s Gate. However, they were both developed by Bioware, developers of the Mass Effect series. Other titles made by Larian Studios include the Divinity Series.
While all the games may differ in terms of narrative, gameplay and graphics, the one constant factor amongst all games mentioned above is that not a single one of them has a New Game+ mode. And since that is the case for all their games, it’s highly unlikely that Larian is going to make an exception for one game, no matter how popular it may be.
2. Making a New Game+ would require Larian to make a variety of balance changes
It’s common knowledge that BG3 is a strategic game and your equipment, stats and overall level play an important part in determining your success in the game. If Larian were to consider making a NG+ mode, they would have to consider making a whole host of new balance changes. This would include raising the level cap, introducing new spells and equipment, redesigning enemies etc.
In short, this would be akin to making an entire new game, as stats for both your character and the enemies are designed in such a way that they balance each other out, and neither is too powerful nor too weak for the other. Ultimately, this would mean redesigning whole questlines. This would, no doubt about it, place a lot of workload on Larian, and is something they would want to actively avoid.
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Conclusion
While it’s unlikely that Larian Studios will add NG+ to BG3, players on the Windows platform can download and enjoy any free NG+ mod. And when Larian rolls out their official cross-platform mod support tool, consoles players will be able to enjoy these mods too. Still, we hope that Larian reconsiders their decision and decides to make an exception for BG3 and introduce a New Game+ mode.
FAQs
The New Game+, or NG+, mode is a mode found mostly in RPGs, that allows you to start a new game, while carrying over your equipment, skills and character. Usually the difficulty is raised in this mode, with most gamers opting for it to explore alternative endings.
No, Baldur’s Gate III does not have a NG+ mode, at least not natively. There are mods available that allow you to experience a fan-made NG+ mode. However, these mods are limited to the Windows platform for now.
It seems unlikely that Baldur’s Gate III will ever receive a NG+ mode, mainly because the prequels to the game, and Larian Studios’ other games, do not have an NG+ mode. Furthermore, introducing a NG+ mode would require making a whole host of balance changes, which could upset the balanced nature of Baldur’s Gate III, and place quite a workload on Larian Studios.