Baldur’s Gate 3 was one of the biggest games of 2023, releasing to massive sales and widespread critical acclaim. Fans naturally expected developer Larian Studios to move right on to DLC or a sequel, but the developer announced plans to move on to something else entirely. The news came as a disappointment for those eager for more content in the game’s universe, but the decision was an important one for Swen Vincke and his team. In a new interview with GameSpot, the Baldur’s Gate 3 director offered some elaboration about the team’s general policy towards DLC.
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“It’s boring. That’s the really honest answer. We tried to be in the DLC business, we talked about that with BG3 and just… it’s no passion. Happy player, happy business, but you also need to have happy developer for a happy player. What we’re doing now makes developers way more happy,” Vincke told GameSpot. “We aren’t because… this is what we were supposed to do, you’re right. Oh, you’ve got a huge game, huge hit, gotta make DLC this, and DLC that, and DLC there, and DLC there, and the money’s gonna pile up all high. We just nodded and said ‘yeah we’ll make DLCs.’ And then the moment we had some time to think, we realized, ‘what are you doing?’”
This lines up pretty closely with what Vincke has said in the past. Following the initial announcement from Larian Studios, fans wondered if there might have been some kind of bad blood between the developer and Dungeons & Dragons rights holder Wizards of the Coast. In a post on social media last year, Vincke noted that the company had nothing to do with Larian’s decision to move away from Baldur’s Gate, calling them “a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing.” However, Vincke noted at the time that the decision to move on to a new project is “what’s best for Larian.” While the team had some ideas for a full sequel to Baldur’s Gate 3, the team simply didn’t feel any passion about them.
At this time, no one knows what’s next for Larian. However, the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 will assuredly lead to strong interest from gamers. We know that Larian is working on two projects right now, and there has been speculation that one is a new entry in the Divinity: Original Sin series. However, it’s clear that whatever Larian is working on, we probably won’t learn about it for some time. Whatever these next games are, hopefully both will prove emotionally fulfilling for the developers. As Vincke notes, there’s a lot of pressure on studios to deliver DLC and sequels. The fact that Larian is in a position to do something that it actually feels passionate about is very much a good thing.
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While Larian Studios won’t have any involvement with the next Baldur’s Gate game, that does not mean that the series is finished. Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast have made it clear that they plan on continuing the series, but with a new development team at the helm. Who that team will be remains to be seen.
Are you disappointed that Baldur’s Gate 3 didn’t get any DLC? Do you think this was the right move for the studio? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]
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