Baldur’s Gate 3 launch guide: Pre-load, file size, launch times

Baldur’s Gate 3 is nearly upon us and fans cannot wait to explore the full glory of the Forgotten Realms. We’ve put together a guide on how to get started.

It’sBaldur’s Gate 3eve and we’re sure prospective players are waiting with bated breath until the full launch of the game onAugust 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Launch

Fans will likely want to get started with the game as soon as humanly possible to get the most out of it.

We’ve put together this handy guide together to help prepare players for launch. Here’s what we know about pre-loading, file size, and launch times.

owlbear cub in baldu’rs gate 3

Ripping the band-aid off,you cannot pre-load Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a massive shame but developer Larian Studio has a pretty good reason for why you can’t.

In a post on theBaldur’s Gate 3 Twitter account, the developers explained the reason for the lack of pre-loading. Apparently, because the game is on Steam and there is an early access function, switching to pre-load could “break the game” for those still playing the early access.

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It’s a fair enough reason to keep pre-loading at bay but it does complicate the launch a bit. The game’s file size is quite hefty.

Unfortunately we’re unable to make Baldur’s Gate 3 available for pre-load — Steam doesn’t support pre-load for Early Access titles because switching to pre-load would break the game for people currently playing Early Access.

A screenshot of Baldur’s Gate from Steam

Baldur’s Gate 3 file size

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a gargantuan 122GBputting it up there with titans like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Microsoft Fight Simulator. The size of the game only makes the lack of pre-load more painful.

122GB is sizable and you can expect a pretty long download time regardless of your internet speed.

two co-op characters bg3 in split screen

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If you want to get into Baldur’s Gate 3 as soon as you possibly can, we recommend being across launch times and setting an alarm to start your download early.

Baldur’s Gate 3 launch times

As previously mentioned, Baldur’s releases on July 22, 2025 but it drops specifically at 8 AM PDT. We’ve done some conversions to help our global audience:

Hopefully, with all this info, you’ll be able to start your journey in the Forgotten Realms right.

While you wait, it might be best to check out some of our Baldur’s Gate 3 guides so you’re prepared for your adventure.