How to update Baldur's Gate 3 to full game from early access

Baldur's Gate 3 is almost here. With less than 24 hours to go, fans around the globe are gearing up for the final launch. The upcoming massive RPG has been in early access for three years. This 1.0 release is the definitive edition bringing the complete experience to players' desktops. This means dozens of hours of engaging in world-building and strategic combat.

However, the road to freedom is still littered with a few hurdles. As per developer Larian Studios, the launch build has so many changes that the upcoming launch is essentially a brand-new game. In other words, early access players have some cleaning up to do before they can upgrade to the entire build.

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Here's everything Baldur's Gate 3 early access players need to do in preparation for the final release

1) Delete Early Access save files

Baldur's Gate 3 1.0 ensures the early access saves are no longer incompatible. To avoid conflicts, players should delete their saved files. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Launch your Baldur's Gate 3 game.
2. Select Load Game from the main menu.
3. Highlight old saves and select Delete Campaign.
4. Then close the game to have Steam Cloud synchronize the results.

This will remove all saved files from the game. But what if users have uninstalled the game without deleting saved files? This can be problematic since it will likely be a hassle for most users to reinstall a 75 GB game. There is another way, thankfully. Navigate to %LocalAppData%\Larian Studios to find the saves under the PlayerProfiles folder and remove them.

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2) Uninstall the early-access game

As mentioned, Baldur's Gate 3 is incompatible with its older early access rendition. It will be a completely distinct download meaning none of the early-access files will be used. This is also why the game offers no pre-load option on Steam. As such, players must prepare their storage drives for 120+ GB of download very soon.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to the Library section of your Steam client.
2. Highlight Baldur's Gate 3 and right-click on it.
3. Select Manage, then Uninstall.
4. Confirm to remove the game from the PC and await the final launch.

Check out our PC launch timings guide to know precise download times for your region.

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3) Remove all mods

Any mods that exist for the early access build of Baldur's Gate 3 will be incompatible with the final release. As such, players should remove all traces of them from their PC. Those using mod installers should use the application to remove the mods and ensure they are not accidentally re-downloaded.

Players are further recommended to check their Baldur's Gate 3 Steam installation folder and the AppData folder to ensure no issues arise at launch.

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4) Using an SSD is recommended

As games get bigger and better, having faster asset streaming and scene loading speeds immensely upgrades the experience. So it is no surprise that Larian Studios recommends using an SSD for Baldur's Gate 3. This makes sense since the world isn't much more extensive than whatever the Belgian studio has made thus far, but also more detailed in graphics.

It is also a challenging gameplay experience, so those who find themselves reloading saves or loading between areas will have a better quality of life experience.

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5) Update graphics drivers

This pertains to newer GPUs on PC, like the mid-high-end lineup of the RTX 2000 and 3000 series cards from Nvidia and the RX 6000 and 7000 series from AMD. Graphics card manufacturers should soon release driver updates for the game's post-launch, so ensure to be on the lookout. This should help players get The most out of their cards, primarily since the game supports DLSS 2.