In a sad, but understandable, turn of events, it would appear that save files from the Early Access version of Baldur's Gate 3 will not carry over to the game's full release.

In a Baldur's Gate 3 Community Update, the developers of the game were thrilled to announce that the Character Creator for the full game would be even bigger and better compared to the one in Early Access. It allows players to edit everything about their character's appearance, including freckles, vitiligo, new tattoo designs, and more. Players could even multiclass, allowing players to pick various classes for their character. If the player doesn't want to create a character, they could even use Origin characters, pre-made characters with fleshed-out “stories, desires, and attitudes.”

Some players in early access who are reading this may think that they don't need to bother with the Character Creator anymore. After all, they already have a character that they have likely sunk multiple hours into. Sadly, the game's developers dropped a bomb with regard to characters and saves made during Baldur's Gate 3's early access period.

Near the end of the community update, the developers said that they recommend that “players don’t buy the Early Access version of Baldur's Gate 3 with a view to play through that content.” They had two reasons for this. The first is that the Early Access build of the game is already out of date. The second, and perhaps the biggest reason, however, is that according to the developers, “saves in the Early Access version will not transfer into the final game.”

They mentioned afterward that this is “due to technical reasons.” They further explained that this was due to the fact that “the game is so vastly different that it’s not possible to make those save files compatible.” With the number of new things the developers added to the game in the three years it was in early access, it's understandable why they would do this. As such, if you were one of the players who have been playing the game with the same character since launch, you will sadly have to part ways with them.

That's all the information we have about why the Early Access save files for Baldur's Gate 3 won't carry over to the full game. The game comes out on PC on PC via Steam, GOG, and GeForce Now on August 3. 2023, and on PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2023.

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