- I Can Smell You From Here patch notes trace back to Larian Studios' 2022 April Fools reveal
- Origin: The gag surfaced alongside a Baldur's Gate 3 patch-notes joke post on June 30, 2022
- No live build: There is no purchasable or downloadable game version behind these notes
- Best tracking method: Follow Larian's official channels for any future gag or real updates
- Community role: Fans preserve and analyze the joke notes as a piece of Larian lore
What Are the I Can Smell You From Here Patch Notes?
The I Can Smell You From Here patch notes are one of the most beloved running jokes in modern Larian Studios history. Larian, the studio behind Baldur's Gate 3, has a long tradition of hiding humor inside its update posts, and the phrase "I can smell you from here" became a fan-favorite punchline tied to those gag patch-note announcements.
The most cited moment came from a Larian Studios social post on June 30, 2022, which teased yet another round of patch notes for the then-unreleased Baldur's Gate 3. Fans flooded the comments — one memorably quipped that "2022: where you get patch notes for unreleased games," while others begged for bard content. It is in this spirit of absurdist, pre-release patch-note comedy that the "I Can Smell You From Here" gag lives on in community memory.
Treat these patch notes as parody lore, not a changelog for a shipping product. Larian's joke notes are written in a perfectly deadpan tone, which is exactly why fans catalog them so carefully.
The Origin Story: How the Joke Was Born
Larian's humor strategy has always leaned into community engagement. Rather than issuing sterile corporate updates, the studio writes patch notes stuffed with personality, and the community responds in kind. The June 2022 post referenced above drew 6.5K views, 361 reactions, and 71 comments — strong engagement for what was essentially a joke teaser directed at studio head Swen Vincke.
The joke-notes tradition that produced the "I Can Smell You From Here" punchline follows a recognizable pattern:
| Element | Typical Joke-Patch Style | Serious Patch Style |
|---|---|---|
| Tone | Deadpan absurdity | Technical and precise |
| Content | Fictional fixes, silly features | Bug fixes, balance changes |
| Timing | April Fools or teaser posts | Regular update cadence |
| Community response | Memes and quote posts | Patch analysis threads |
The Teaser Post
- Addressed directly to Swen
- Promised "another round" of notes
- Dropped while the game was unreleased
The Fan Reaction
- 71 comments debating the joke
- Requests for bard class content
- Mock outrage at pre-launch patch notes
The Legacy
- Phrase adopted by fans as a running meme
- Kept alive in wiki and forum archives
- Referenced whenever Larian posts updates
Joke patch notes humanize a studio. For a wiki community, preserving them is a way of documenting the relationship between developers and players — the humor is the lore.
How to Track Official Patch Notes the Right Way
If you want to follow genuine Larian patch-note releases (and catch any future gag notes in the same vein), follow a disciplined routine. The studio publishes real updates through a small set of official channels, and gag content almost always appears there first.
| Channel | Content Type | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Official Larian website | Full patch notes, announcements | ★★★★★ |
| Larian social accounts | Teasers, gag posts, community replies | ★★★★★ |
| Steam news page | Platform-specific changelogs | ★★★★ |
| Community wikis | Archived jokes and history | ★★★ |
Bookmark the Official Sources
Start with Larian's official site and verified social accounts. Anything patch-related posted elsewhere should be cross-checked against these before you believe it.
Learn to Spot Gag Notes
Joke notes usually break pattern: impossible features, absurd "fixes," or notes for content that does not exist. If a changelog smells like comedy, it probably is.
Verify Before Sharing
Fan wikis and forums often preserve joke notes without labeling them as jokes. Check the original post date — many gag notes land on or near April 1.
Archive What You Find
Social posts can vanish. Screenshot and date-stamp gag patch notes so the community record stays intact.
Some sites repost parody patch notes as if they were real changelogs. If a note set has no official source link — like the June 30, 2022 Larian post — treat it as unverified.
Joke Notes vs. Real Notes: A Comparison Framework
Distinguishing parody changelogs from genuine ones is a skill. Use this reference table whenever a suspicious patch-note dump crosses your feed.
| Signal | Joke Patch Notes | Real Patch Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feature claims | Physically impossible or silly | Plausible, scoped |
| Version numbering | Absurd or missing | Sequential, dated |
| Developer voice | Playful, fourth-wall breaks | Professional |
| Source | Social gag post or forum meme | Official channel |
| Community tone | Jokes and memes | Analysis and testing |
On this wiki, every archived patch-note entry must cite its original source link and post date. Entries without provenance are flagged, which keeps the I Can Smell You From Here patch notes archive trustworthy.
Verification Checklist for Any Patch Notes:
- Confirm the post comes from an official Larian channel
- Check the publication date for April Fools proximity
- Cross-reference version numbers against official changelogs
- Screenshot and archive the original post
- Note whether the community treated it as gag or genuine
Community Preservation and Fan Culture
The lasting value of the I Can Smell You From Here patch notes is cultural, not mechanical. Fans keep the joke alive because it captures a specific era — the long Baldur's Gate 3 pre-release window when Larian could joke freely because nobody could actually play the game yet.
Community efforts generally focus on three activities:
- Archiving original gag posts with dates and reaction counts
- Contextualizing each joke within Larian's broader humor tradition
- Debunking reposts that strip the comedy framing and present parody as news
If you find an unarchived gag patch-note post, capture the URL, date, and engagement stats. Small details — like the 361 reactions on the June 2022 post — help future fans reconstruct the moment.
FAQ
Q: Are the I Can Smell You From Here patch notes for a real game?
No. The phrase is tied to Larian Studios' joke-patch-note tradition, most famously referenced in a June 30, 2022 social post teasing 'another round of patch notes' for the then-unreleased Baldur's Gate 3. There is no separate downloadable game behind these notes.
Q: Where did the I Can Smell You From Here patch notes joke originate?
The gag grew out of Larian's habit of writing humorous patch-note posts during the Baldur's Gate 3 early access era. The June 2022 teaser post — which drew thousands of views and dozens of comments — is the most commonly cited anchor point.
Q: How can I tell if patch notes are a joke?
Check the source, the date, and the content. Gag notes typically feature impossible features, playful developer voice, and proximity to April Fools, and they originate from social posts rather than official changelog pages.
Q: Why do fans still archive joke patch notes?
Because they document the developer-community relationship. Larian's humor is part of its identity, and preserving gag posts — with dates, links, and reaction counts — keeps that history accessible to new fans.