Now that Baldur’s Gate 3 has been an enormous success each critically and financially, individuals are trying ahead to what’s subsequent for developer Larian Studios. Nevertheless, based on studio founder Swen Vincke, the longer term doesn’t lie with the Baldur’s Gate franchise or Dungeons & Dragons as an entire.
Throughout a chat on the Recreation Builders Convention on Thursday (spotted by IGN and confirmed by Polygon in a video on the official conference TikTok), Vincke stated that Larian gained’t be engaged on any DLC, expansions, or a sequel for the sport. It will be handing the IP again to Wizards of the Coast and shifting on to unrelated initiatives.
“Baldur’s Gate 3 will all the time have a coronary heart — a heat spot in our hearts. We’ll eternally be happy with it, however we’re not going to proceed it. We’re not going to make new expansions, which all people is anticipating us to do. We’re not going to make Baldur’s Gate 4, which all people is anticipating us to do. We’re going to maneuver on, we’re going to maneuver away from D&D, and we’re going to start out making a brand new factor,” he stated.
Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian, confirmed the information in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Had a number of time to replicate on this unbelievable journey as everybody has, and I can’t clarify how excited I’m for the subsequent. Hope you be part of us for that!” he wrote.
Vincke spoke more about the decision with Gamespot. He defined that he initially wished to make extra Baldur’s Gate, however determined towards it.
“That’s not what we had been made for,” Vincke stated. “That’s actually the alternative of what Larian is about. We need to do large, new issues. We don’t need to rehash the factor that we’ve performed already.”
All of this doesn’t imply Larian gained’t proceed to work on Baldur’s Gate 3. Simply final month, Douse introduced that the staff could be engaged on a “cross-platform plan for mod assist,” with implementation nonetheless many months away.
Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, acknowledged how profitable Baldur’s Gate 3 was in its 2023 financial report released last month. It acknowledged that a lot of Wizard of the Coast and digital gaming’s development could be attributed to Monopoly Go!, Magic: The Gathering, and Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s additionally been an enormous success critically, profitable a number of awards. Only a day earlier than the announcement, Baldur’s Gate 3 gained 4 trophies on the Recreation Builders Selection Awards (additionally placed on by GDC), together with sport of the yr. It additionally gained sport of the yr at The Recreation Awards in 2023.
Hasbro is subsequently desirous about rising its gaming output and leaning on the Baldur’s Gate franchise, as firm CEO Chris Cocks talked about in an earnings call to coincide with the report.
“2024 is about returning shopper merchandise to profitability, investing for long-term momentum in video games, and driving vital enhancements in Hasbro’s backside line […] In brief, we’re placing all the precise items collectively to maintain investing in our development initiatives whereas increasing the methods our franchises attain followers by digital video games,” Cocks stated. “We count on an extended tail into 2024 and past for this mega hit.
Nevertheless, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs proper earlier than Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic groups. This consists of the staff that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.