During D&D Live 2020, Larian Studios dropped over an hour of gameplay spearheaded by none other than Swen Vincke, founder of Larian and director of the game.

The live gameplay video can be seen below, courtesy of the IGN Youtube Channel:

Here are some the new changes and content highlighted, via Larian Studios via Gematsu:

The narrator that will lead players through the game has changed to present tense/second-person narration.

Changes have been made to the initiative system. Previous gameplay showed the side initiative, which has evolved over the past month. Characters with similar individual initiative can now be grouped together automatically, allowing players to try out combinations and align their attacks in a group initiative system. Other characters and enemies will have individual initiative.

Vincke showed the inspiration system for the first time. Inspiration points allow the player to reroll one of their dice—a very valuable tool for when the roll of the dice decides life and death. These points are awarded to the player for finding special solutions during their playthrough.

Reactivity to the player character: Vincke played as a custom character elf, showcasing how the world reacts to who you are and, more importantly, which decisions you have made in the past.

Baldur’s Gate is scheduled to enter early access in August. Maybe.