Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a 2001 action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Snowblind Studios for PlayStation 2 and Xbox,[1][2] by High Voltage Software for GameCube,[3] and by Magic Pockets for Game Boy Advance.[4] Produced by Black Isle Studios and distributed by Vivendi Universal Games, it was first published in North America by Interplay Entertainment on December 2, 2001 for PlayStation 2,[5] October 22, 2002 for Xbox,[6] and November 18, 2002 for GameCube.[7] The GameBoy Advance version was published by Destination Software on February 10, 2004.[4][8] CD Projekt was developing a PC version but it was cancelled.[9]
The gameplay is based on the rules of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, which were released in 2000. It is the first video game to implement the real time application of the new rules.[10] The game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons.
Dark Alliance was well received on all four platforms, with the PlayStation 2 version going on to win the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award for "Role-Playing Game of the Year" (2001).[11] A sequel, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, was released in 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A third game was planned, but was cancelled early in development due to legal problems.