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Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate · RAWG · Courtesy of RAWG

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Baldur's Gate

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1998 fantasy role-playing video game

Game data

Metacritic 91
Released
1998-12-21
User rating
4.37 / 5
Genres
Strategy, RPG
Platforms
PC, iOS, macOS
ESRB
Teen

via RAWG

Game details · IGDB

85User score · 349 ratings

Baldur's Gate is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. It is the first game in the Baldur's Gate series and takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd edition rules. It was the first game to use the Infinity Engine for its graphics, with Interplay using the engine for other Forgotten Realms-licensed games, including the Icewind Dale series, as well as other licensed D&D campaign worlds such as Planescape: Torment. The game's sto…

Released
1998
Genres
Role-playing (RPG)
Platforms
Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac
Game modes
Single player, Co-operative
Engine
Infinity Engine
Franchise
Dungeons & Dragons
Developer
BioWare, BioWare Edmonton
Publisher
Interplay Entertainment, Black Isle Studios

Key facts

Developer
BioWare
Publishers
Black Isle Studios Interplay Entertainment JP : Sega
Producer
Ray Muzyka
Designer
James Ohlen
Programmer
Scott Greig
Artist
John Gallagher
Writers
James Ohlen Lukas Kristjanson
Composer
Michael Hoenig
Series
Baldur's Gate
Engine
Infinity Engine
Platforms
Microsoft Windows Mac OS
Release
Microsoft Windows NA : December 21, 1998 JP : January 30, 1999 EU : January 1999 Mac OS NA : July 31, 2000
Genre
Role-playing
Modes
Single-player , multiplayer

via Wikipedia infobox

Official website

BioWare: Baldur's Gate

web.archive.org

Link to the official site · 14,250 chars · not written by Vinony

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Baldur's Gate is a role-playing video game that was developed by BioWare and published in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. It is the first game in the Baldur's Gate series and takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd edition rules. It was the first game to use the Infinity Engine for its graphics, with Interplay using the engine for other Forgotten Realms-licensed games, including the Icewind Dale series and Planescape: Torment. The game's story focuses on a player-made character who travels across the Sword Coast alongside a party of companions.

The game received critical acclaim and was credited for revitalizing computer role-playing games. An expansion pack was released titled Tales of the Sword Coast, as was a sequel, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. An enhanced version of the Infinity Engine was later created as part of Beamdog's remake Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, the first new release in the franchise in nearly nine years. The original Baldur's Gate continues to be referenced as a point of inspiration in many modern role-playing games, and is often cited as one of the best video games ever made. In 2023, Larian Studios released the third installment, Baldur's Gate 3.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Baldur's Gate” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.