Baldur's Gate 3 PlayStation 5 Early Access: Start Time, How To Play

With Baldur's Gate 3 approaching its global release on PC in August 2023, PlayStation 5 players will have to wait longer after developer Larian Studios pushed back its release to September 2023. In the meantime, players can still pre-order the digital or physical game for PlayStation 5 before its release and grab some extra goodies.

As PC players still have time to enjoy the game before leaving Early Access via Steam, will an Early Access feature be available for PlayStation 5? If you're eager to learn before pre-ordering the game, here's what you must know about Baldur's Gate 3 PlayStation 5 Early Access, including start dates, times, and how to play early.

Baldur's Gate 3 PlayStation 5 Early Access Start Dates & Times

Players looking to start their campaign for Baldur's Gate 3 on PlayStation 5 consoles must be reminded that the game was delayed from its initial release of 31st August 2023 to 6th September 2023. This pushes the game back by one week as the developer continues to have the game meet "a technical bar" equal to its PC release.

We’ve re-rolled the D8. Baldur’s Gate 3 is launching August 3rd for PC, and September 6 on PlayStation 5. We’re talking about that, and so much more in our latest Community Update.

Learn more in Community Update #20 : https://t.co/8b1YWXv2oRpic.twitter.com/PFEyDUTUBf

— Baldur's Gate 3 re-rolled the D8 🥳 (@baldursgate3) June 30, 2023

Nevertheless, console players will still have access to Baldur's Gate 3 on its new release date, and those who've pre-ordered one of the game's two editions will gain the Early Access feature. As the developer ensured, players who ordered the Digital Deluxe or Physical Collector's Editions will receive it ahead of its launch as they will have 72 hours of Early Access playtime for Act I.

Before the delay announcement, the Early Access start date would have been 28th August 2023 on PS5; however, with the delay to one week later, it's safe to say that the new Early Access start date would be from 2nd September 2023. As for the start times, this is dependent on players' time zones, which may reflect when the Early Access is unlocked per region.

But if this is still unclear to you, we have provided the Early Access starting dates and times for regions listed below:

• US & Canada: 2nd September 2023 at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET
• Europe: 2nd September 2023 at 4 pm UTC
• Asia: 3rd September 2023 at 1 am KST
• Australia/New Zealand: 3rd September 2023 at 2 am ACT / 4 am NZST

How To Play Baldur's Gate 3 PlayStation 5 Early Access?

As to how you can start playing Baldur's Gate 3 using the Early Access feature, players must ensure that they have pre-ordered any game editions available from the PlayStation Store. Additionally, PlayStation 5 owners must have enabled the "Stay Connected to the Internet" setting on their console to auto-download the game to their console by following these steps provided:

1. From the Home page, locate the Games Library and select the Purchased tab before scrolling until you've found Baldur's Gate 3 within the library.
2. As you'll see a countdown timer on the game's listing, select the pre-ordered game (Baldur's Gate 3) and click on the countdown timer
3. To activate the game content you want to auto-download, use the checkbox and select the base game before selecting OK, and it will give you an estimated date and time for which it will auto-download to your console.

Baldur's Gate 3 will be arriving on PC on 3rd August 2023 as it will leave its Early Access period before its full release. The PlayStation 5 version launches on 6th September 2023 with no confirmed details on a possible Xbox release date.