The Xbox Series S has been plaguing game developers for the last few years but Baldur’s Gate 3 has finally released this one feature on it.

Baldur’s Gate 3 players on Xbox Series S finally have a complete game as Larian Studios finally adds split-screen couch co-op for the game. This feature has been more than a year coming for Series S owners and players. The Series S is just continuing to give developers a hard time with its weaker hardware.

It took them long enough but at least it’s finally here. | Image Credit: Larian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t the only game affected by this issue either as many devs over the last few years have brought up their own issues with optimizing for the Series S. Despite this, local multiplayer is making its way to all Xbox users finally alongside other new features.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally equal across all platforms

The Series S is really just holding back Xbox. | Image Credit: Larian Studios

Larian Studios followed a staggered release plan for the launch of Baldur’s Gate 3 in 2023. The game was first launched on PC, then a month later on PlayStation 5. What about Xbox? You might ask. Well Xbox Series X/S players were left waiting due to issues with split-screen co-op on Series S. Microsoft’s parity clause requires games to have the same features on both Series X and S and this was the main cause of the delay.

Eventually, Xbox made an exception and let Larian release the game on Series S without the split-screen couch co-op feature. With Patch 8 of the game, Larian has finally brought the feature to the Series S, but it’s in the testing phase for now. Let’s hope the Series S’ reign of terror ends soon.

Split-screen co-op isn’t the only major addition in Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 8. The update also introduces cross-play, allowing players on PC, PS5, and Xbox to team up regardless of platform. Additionally, the patch adds 12 new subclasses, a photo mode, and various bug fixes. But since it’s in a closed test right now, it won’t be accessible to everyone for the time being.

Patch 8 is currently out as part of a limited stress test and it enables local co-op on the Series S for the first time. While the full patch isn’t available to all players yet, those in the test can now enjoy playing side-by-side with friends. This update also includes cross-play functionality, a photo mode, and new subclasses.

The Xbox Series S is the bane of many game devs now

This console is delaying so many games. | Image Credit: Microsoft

Delays like this on the Series S have been getting more and more common. Many studios have complained that optimizing games for both Series X and Series S is a challenge due to the latter’s weaker hardware. Do we really want everyone’s experience to be worse across the board because of one console?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is not the only game affected by Microsoft’s policies for the console either. You’ll remember Black Myth: Wukong, last year’s breakout hit. Well that game hasn’t come out on Xbox yet and it’s all because of the Series S. Then there’s Dune: Awakening and Enotria: The Last Song. The developers for both of these games have explained the difficulty of optimizing and fitting a game for the Series S.

Regardless, finally getting a big feature like this is no small matter so Xbox players can celebrate this win. When Baldur’s Gate 3 launched on Xbox without the feature, we felt that it left Series S players with an incomplete experience. With Patch 8, the game is finally whole on all Xbox platforms, delivering on Larian Studios’ original vision.