Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 adds official modding toolkit this autumn
Closed alpha test begins today.
Baldur's Gate 3 will finally add official mod support in September, after a summer of ongoing testing - which begins today.
Patch 7, which will include the game's modding toolkit, begins testing now via a closed alpha which will run for around a month. In July, a further 1000 players will be added, as part of a closed beta.
The idea is that the alpha test will develop mod tools and bring over existing mods, while the beta test will then provide feedback on these. That should then take everyone through to September, when Patch 7 rolls out for everyone.
"With the intention of working through your feedback throughout the summer, it will give us time to polish off Patch 7 ready for release in September," Larian wrote today in a blog post on Steam.
"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!"
The blog post goes into detail on why the modding support is important - to avoid issues with game stability and compatibility - and detail how it will work, using Mod.io to enable support for all platforms.
"Releasing first on PC, we expect to roll out the support to the wider community and various platforms shortly after - including for Mac players, as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles," Larian continued.
There's detail too on which mods may fall foul of the Dungeons & Dragons license.
"Our goal with mod.io and our partners is to strike a balance that allows for extensive modding while keeping the guidelines in mind," Larian wrote. "While some NSFW mods and certain script-heavy modifications may not be supported through the official pipeline, modding outside of our pipeline will still be an option."
Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke recently discussed the need to "do a bit of crunch" making Baldur's Gate 3, but only "very, very, very rarely".