LogInThe closed alpha has already started.
Larian Studios
Sexy costumes, crazy hairstyles, and new spells are coming to Baldur's Gate 3 together with the official modding support in Patch 7 in September. Larian Studios finally announced the news on Steam, but it's a little too early to be too excited because the integration has to be completed in steps.
"Coming to you this September, the next major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 will also introduce an officially sanctioned toolkit for giving Lae’zel a mullet. I mean, sure, go for it. You only live once."
The closed beta testing already started yesterday: the studio is working with a small team of mod authors from the community. In July, registration for a further closed beta will be open, but only about 1,000 PC players will be able to participate. Then the modding tool will be polished and should be released in September.
"In the meantime, we still have plenty coming your way, including some anniversary extravagance as we look back on the months since release. We’re also still pressing on with the development of an in-game photo mode, crossplay, and more fixes that will arrive later down the line!"
Why do we need official mod support? I'm sure if you are using mods right now, you've spent many minutes cursing Baldur’s Gate 3 updates as they render some of the modifications useless. The tool provided by Larian should fix this problem and make sure mods don't break the game.
The developers emphasized that you will be able to still use mods outside of the proposed pipeline, but their method will improve compatibility and ensure a smoother experience. Basically, there is no reason to not use the official tools unless you want NSFW content: Larian says that some of these mods as well as "certain script-heavy modifications may not be supported through the official pipeline."
Considering the game itself is not kid-friendly, I'm not sure which "spicy" mods won't be supported and why. Other than that, direct level editing and changes to core game elements can't be done cross-platform "due to technical constraints and platform-specific guidelines."
Larian Studios
"Beyond game code architecture for managing mods, we will release a subset of our internal development tools as part of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit. This will let you:
- Access the editor to create your own mods.
- Upload mods directly to mod.io servers.
- Load levels read-only to look at all the local entities, as well as the setup, and test your mods in-game while creating them.
- Get access to our internal editors for supported asset types such as textures and visual models, allowing you to override them directly in your mod through the developer interface.
- Publish your mod via the editor where it will be moderated and made visible in the in-game browser, or pack your mod locally to upload to a third-party site.
- Mod UIs through file editing. We will provide documentation that will explain how our internals are set up to solve mod loading/compatibility issues.
- Within Baldur’s Gate 3 itself, you’ll be able to:
- Download and manage your mods directly.
- Manage multiplayer and save game files through a verification UI."
The tools will be first released on PC but then rolled out on PlayStation and Xbox if everything goes as expected. Learn more here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.