Baldur's Gate 3 Writer confirms a cut feature, and I'm not okay

Each game has cut content. In an alternate universe, we played a version of Red Dead Redemption 2 which allows us to explore a country inspired by Mexico. At some point in our alternating childhoods, there is a version of Fable 2 with unarmed environmental warfare. In these alternate histories where budgets stretch, deadlines are bent, and nothing meaningful ever gets left on the cutting room floor, gamers and developers alike enjoy the most fleshed-out versions of the games we love most. Alas, we are stuck in this timeline – enslaved by deadlines, capital and profit. You are limited to this timeline with me. And I'm sorry to inform you about it Baldur's Gate 3 has been affected by these shackles in a way that feels almost personal to me and hundreds of fans.

Baldur's Gate 3 is my favorite game of all time. This fact remains constant across every timeline. Somewhere out there, another version of me is experiencing another Baldur's Gate 3 one where relationships don't just culminate in romance, but into something softer and more layered. That version of me still makes questionable decisions and flirts with vampiric disaster. But she also goes on a platonic date with Shadowheart. That version of me thrives. Meanwhile, in this timeline, I just learned about a version of this game that almost existed. In this timeline, I'm writing about it because I'm not taking it well.

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Baldur's Gate 3 had a multi-layered romance and friendship system that was killed by lack of time

In a recent conversation with Edge Magazine, Baldur's Gate 3 Writer Kevin VanOrd talked about all things fandom (safe for work and not safe for work): fan fiction, fan art, and other expressions of creativity. The interview naturally touched on the source of inspiration for this art. Baldur's Gate 3s romances have fueled nearly three years of fandom-driven content since launch. However, most fans don't stop to think about what could have been. After all, the game has been hailed as one of the most complete romance systems in modern RPGs. Few RPGs have inspired the same level of attachment and, frankly, obsession. What could be missing?

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The interview touched on cut content related to the game's romance system. VanOrd confirmed that the version players received was not the full vision. Time constraints ultimately forced the team to cut several ideas that would have expanded relationships beyond romance—ideas that, in retrospect, feel like missing pieces. Here's what was lost due to lack of time:

The romantic mechanics of Baldur's Gate 3 would have had a Platonic counterpart.
The friendship system could have had special events like platonic “dates”.
Campmates would have had romances with each other outside of the player's influence.

None of these ideas reduce what Baldur's Gate 3 skilled. However, it hurts to learn that there was almost a near-perfect version of something even more ambitious.

What hurts the most: the version of Baldur's Gate 3 that we never get

The loss of intimacy in Baldur's Gate 3 is strange. Many people first heard about the game thanks to BG3s viral bear romance, including me. The game has no shortage of cheeky scenes. Still, many players know that some of the best character moments in the game are those where camp mates carry their burdens to the player. During some narrative branches, like Astarion's romance, the hottest thing a player can do is actually reject sex. That trust unlocks the best intimacy the game has to offer.

Baldur's Gate 3 exudes vulnerability, both sexual and platonic. So, having content cut in places where the game shines the most stings. Because this isn't just a cut-down NPC or unimportant side quests. It is a change in how anchoring relationships work. And in this case, ignorance may have been bliss.

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The thought of companions forming bonds outside of a Tav or Durge almost physically hurts me. It could have changed so much. Characters like Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart feel alive in a way few RPG peers do. Having them pursue relationships independently would have pushed Baldur's Gate 3 beyond player-centric storytelling to something more dynamic: something that exists with or without you.

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My tadpole and I will be okay (not right now… but someday)

I understand why all of this was removed. After all, Baldur's Gate 3's branching stories have the power to constantly reshape the party. Some companions may leave. Others experience permadeath. Most people can find love with your characters. The sheer number of variables already stretches the game to its limits, so layering an entirely reactive friendship or peer-to-peer romance on top would have been a staggering technical and narrative order.

Still, it's hard not to imagine what could have been… a version of the game where companions updated you on their own lives. During BG3's epilogue, they could have told you about growing closer, falling out, or even silently choosing each other. The texture of camp life would have been rich.

There's actually a glimpse of it in the game now. In some endings, Karlach teases a possible relationship with Wyll. It makes the world feel bigger and reinforces the fact that these characters have lives that didn't start and won't end with Tav. Now we have an excellent product. We have a version of the game where everything, somehow, always comes back to Tav or Durge, and that's fine. However, Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the most emotionally resonant RPGs ever made. But somehow it was so close it felt even more real, as hard as that might be to imagine.