After a bit of scope re-evalution over the summer, the modders behind Baldur’s Gate 3 custom campaign mod Path to Menzoberranzan have set a new target in terms of releasing the a first publicly playable taste of it. An alpha build made up of a Nautiold-sized tutorial level is now pencilled in to arrive during the first half of 2026.
As we’ve covered previously, the original pitch for the project was a custom adventure that’d see you and a party of fresh companions travel to Minthara’s hometown via some locations from previous Baldur’s Gates. According to the team, over 130 people are now working on making that a reality on what’s being teased as a larger scale than originally envisioned.
That detail comes from a new project summary added to the mod’s Discord server this week, which has now been followed by another monthly progress update from Path to Menzoberranzan community manager Andrew Simone. “The first playable alpha will include the prologue of our game, similar in scope to the Nautiloid of BG3,” reads the new summary. “It’s expected to be available in the first half of 2026.
“While the release date of the full mod is years away, we intend to release updates over time that include new locations and further the game’s narrative. How extensive those updates will be depends on both alpha/beta feedback and implementation feasibility. We want our players to experience a satisfying portion of our game’s story with each new update we release, which requires more development to occur between updates, since our game features many interconnected story lines.”
Simone’s update meshes with that plan, its main announcement being that production on that Nautiloid-sized “tutorial level” is underway. “Our team is working diligently on the concept art and level design of this first portion of the mod,” the community manager wrote, adding that with lots of work to be done the modders won’t be hosting any more voice acting auditions until next year.
“On the technical side of things, we’re upgrading our backend infrastructure to handle the MASSIVE scope this project is growing into,” they continued. “To put it simply, we’re setting up the same kind of systems that AAA studios use for large RPGs.” As if the word massive in capital letters didn’t get your attention, Simone added that in terms of the mod’s makeup, this’ll allow for “more voice acting. Bigger maps. Cinematics. All the content you’ve been asking for”.
“We’re making sure our tech can handle it without causing PCs to burst into flames,” the community manager summarised. “The infrastructure we’re putting in place now will allow us to deliver on our promise of creating a full original campaign.” Sounds great, assuming the group are being careful not to get too carried away and end up with a project that’s ballooned to a level they end up struggling to deliver. That’s always a delicate and unique balance to strike when it comes to these kinds of volunteer undertakings, though, and odds are it’ll be tough to tell exactly whether these modders are biting off more than they can chew until they’re a lot deeper into the weeds of it.
That said, other big mods have proven cutting back on areas and features if they prove too tricky and leaving them as potential boxes to reopen if there’s capacity to further down the line is always a viable option. At this stage, we’ll just have to see what the modders can pull off for that initial alpha whenever it ends up arriving, since it should ideally set a foundation they can build on going forwards.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
