Beamdog Loses Rights to Publish Baldur’s Gate as Legal Issues Proceed

Baldur’s Gate Removed from App Store

I love Baldur’s Gate and feel that Overhaul Games did a great job with the ‘Enhanced Edition’, but sadly today we have learned that what feels like an eternal struggle around the publishing rights around Baldur’s Gate and Dungeon & Dragons has erupted again and has resulted in the game being removed from the App Store and other places that had it for sale.

Here is the official word from company president Trent Oster:

Dear Friends of Baldur’s Gate,

We recently removed Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition from sale on Beamdog and the Apple App Store. We’ve taken this step at our publishing partner’s request as we attempt to resolve a number of contractual issues.

Unfortunately, until this matter is resolved, we are unable to release the latest Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition patch or Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition for Android.

This also prevents the launch of Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. I sincerely apologize to the series’ fans and promise we are working diligently to remedy the situation.

Regards, Trent Oster President, Beamdog & Overhaul Games

What does this mean? It means a hold and delay on everything the company had in progress – including the hotly anticipated launch of Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. This is certainly not the first time this has happened – the licensing of these properties have had issues since the 90s, and most recently messed with the ‘Premium Modules’ for Neverwinter Nights and the entirety of Neverwinter Nights 2.

We can only hope this all gets resolved soon – and gets resolved in a way that prevents it from happening again.

There is also a FAQ on the Baldur’s Gate home page, which pretty much answers all questions with ‘everything is on hold right now’.

So if you enjoyed my review and had been thinking about buying, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Rest assured that I will update the post when the game is again available to buy.