You know, as a gamer who's spent hundreds of hours in the Forgotten Realms, I thought I knew most of Baldur's Gate 3's secrets. But here's one that genuinely surprised me – a secret that wasn't hidden in some deep dungeon or behind a tricky puzzle, but right out in the open for half a decade. Larian Studios, those wonderful mad geniuses, literally wrote the game's release date on a whiskey bottle and left it hanging in a bar. And nobody noticed. Not for five whole years. That's the kind of developer story that makes you smile and shake your head at the same time.

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Michael Douse, Larian's publishing director, recently spilled the beans on X. Back in the day, he took a marker to a bottle of whiskey and scribbled the release date for Baldur's Gate 3 right on the label. Then, he just… left it there. In a bar. For over five years. The bottle hung around, gathering dust, while the gaming world speculated endlessly about when this massive RPG would finally see the light of day. And the craziest part? The secret never leaked. Douse himself called it "the best-kept secret in gaming," and honestly, he's not wrong. Imagine all the eyes that must have passed over that bottle, completely unaware they were looking at one of the biggest gaming reveals of the decade.

Now, there's a bit of a mystery about which date was written down. Was it the full launch in August 2023? Or was it the original Early Access target from way back in September 2020? The message on the bottle reportedly said "on rear," which might have pointed to a second note or maybe even the whiskey's own expiration date. Either way, the core fact remains: a major piece of gaming history was documented on barware, and it worked perfectly as a time capsule. It makes you wonder what other secrets are hiding in plain sight, doesn't it?

This story perfectly encapsulates Larian's charm. They're a studio that blends monumental ambition with this almost playful, communal spirit. While we were all theory-crafting and datamining, the answer was literally on a shelf in a pub. And as we approach the game's third anniversary in 2026, tales like this remind us why the journey to release was so special. The game itself is a masterpiece, but the stories around it have their own magic.

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Of course, the natural question is: will they do it again? Douse joked about it in his post, but quickly clarified he wouldn't press his luck. He got away with it once, and that's enough. The legendary whiskey bottle is now a permanent part of BG3's lore, a fun footnote for fans to cherish. But it does make you think about Larian's next move.

Speaking of which, let's talk about the future. Larian is already deep into their next big project. We know it's not Baldur's Gate 4 – they've passed the torch for that universe back to Wizards of the Coast. So what's cooking in their kitchens? It's all speculation right now, but the whispers in the taverns (and on forums) suggest we might not have to wait as long as we think. Some industry watchers are pegging a potential release window for Larian's new IP around 2028 or 2029. That's sooner than many expected after such a colossal undertaking. Could its release date be hidden somewhere? Probably not on a bottle this time, but knowing Larian, I wouldn't rule out some clever, community-driven secret.

Looking back at Baldur's Gate 3' legacy as we sit here in 2026, it's clear the game was a watershed moment. Let's break down why it resonated so deeply:

  • Unprecedented Depth: From the Phase Spider Matriarch's dark backstory (which many players still miss!) to the thousands of branching dialogues, the game rewards endless replayability.

  • Critical & Commercial Triumph: It swept awards, defined a generation of RPGs, and proved that deep, complex games have a massive audience.

  • A Developer-Player Bond: Stories like the whiskey bottle create a unique connection. It feels like we're all in on a secret with the developers.

So, what's the takeaway for us players? It's that the world of gaming is still full of wonder and human touch. In an age of corporate leaks and controlled marketing cycles, a developer can still write a date on a bottle, hang it up, and trust that the community will find it at the right time. It's a testament to passion. As we eagerly await Larian's next chapter, I'll raise a glass (maybe even a whiskey) to the studio that not only built one of the greatest RPGs of all time but also had the audacity to hide its birth announcement in the last place anyone would look. Here's to the next adventure, and to the secrets it will undoubtedly hold.