Since Baldur's Gate 3 (opens in new tab) went into Early Access in 2020, the only Act 1 available until it goes live has been fattened up with giant badgers (opens in new tab), instruments, and the objectively best races of D&D (opens in new tab). Good news: more information on the 2023 release date will be announced in December.

Patch 9 will add new features by the end of the year, and the accompanying "panel from hell" will feature Larian "detailing the most discussed topics in the community. That includes the release date, which will hopefully give us a better idea of when we can embark on the full adventure through the Realm of Oblivion over the next 12 months."

An update on the developer blog this week (opens in new tab) states that Act 2 and Act 3 are currently being "actively playtested," with more work being done on Act 1. However, if you've already played the game several times, you've probably encountered enough new elements at launch that playing it again won't feel like more of the same.

"Our goal," says Larian, "is to make players who have been playing Act 1 over and over for hundreds of hours feel like they have a whole new experience waiting for them at launch.

Until then, we'll have to entertain them with speculation about what's coming in the next patch. There are still races and classes waiting in the wings, and I'm eager to get into trouble as a boisterous half-orc. What Christmas present are you hoping the patch will bring you?