Baldur’s Gate 3 characters were hornier at launch because of a bug

When Larian Studios’ role-playing smash hit Baldur’s Gate 3 launched, it escaped no one’s attention how You’re itMost party companions were. For once, the term “romance options” really was the euphemism it often sounds like. The people in these ads were clearly horny. They seemed to be more interested in getting you to know them than they did in actually getting toknowingyou. Know more you.

This seemed consistent with both the general vibe that greeted the game’s release — a delighted and amazed sense limitless possibility, plus a lot of Astarion thirst — and its marketing, the most memorable beat of which, let’s remember, featured quite a lot of bear sex. Then everyone just rolled along.

This was not the intention. In fact, it was a bug.

That’s according to Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke, who told TheGamer that approval thresholds in the game’s romance system had been set too low for some characters — especially the, um, irrepressible Gale.

“So… it was a bug,” Vincke said. “The approval thresholds were too low when we shipped. That’s why they were so horny in the beginning. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We’ve fixed it since, at least for some of them. We’re still fixing a few of them.”

Vincke didn’t reveal the characters who still need a patch of cold water, but Gale was singled out as being most offended (not many people were). “It wasn’t intended,” he said. “Especially Gale. [He] wasn’t supposed to be like, instantly there.”

Larian is no longer a player. Baldur’s Gate 3’s sex dial down from 11. But Vincke pointed out that coming on so strong in real life would be considered “problematic,” and that the game’s original intention was to simulate interpersonal interactions a little more realistically.

“There were a lot of people that enjoyed it. But it was too fast,” he said. “It was supposed to simulate how real relationships are.”

Baldur’s Gate 3PlayStation 5 owners will need to be a bit more diligent to earn their boots. It’s a tough break. Xbox is expected to be released before the year’s end.