Today during Google Stadia‘s Connect event, as reports said it would, Larian Studios revealed a brand-new Baldur’s Gate mainline game, appropriately titled Baldur’s Gate 3. At the moment of publishing, there’s no word of a release date or platforms beyond Stadia and PC. In other words, there’s no word if the game is coming to consoles. Further, no gameplay has been revealed, just the above CGI trailer.
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“Created in close collaboration with the Dungeons & Dragons team at Wizards of the Coast, Baldur’s Gate III is based off current D&D mechanics and spells and is the official new chapter in the legendary series,” writes Larian Studios in an official press release.
“Baldur’s Gate III will push the boundaries of the RPG genre and offer a rich narrative with unparalleled player freedom, high-stakes decisions, unique companion characters and memorable combat. It is Larian Studios’ biggest production ever and will be playable together with friends or as a single-player adventure. The teaser trailer shows a return of a malevolent presence to Baldur’s Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out, corrupting everything that remains in the Forgotten Realms. Alone you may resist, but together you can overcome. Gather your party.”
For those that don’t know: Baldur’s Gate is a fantasy role-playing series originally developed by BioWare and published by Interplay that kicked off all the way back in 1998. If you’re a Dungeons & Dragons fan, then you probably know the series is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. It has notably spawned two additional series, Bhaalspawn Saga and Dark Alliance, both equally significant and well-received.
To date, the series has seen: Baldur’s Gate in 1998, Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast in 1999, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Arm in 2000, Baldur’s Gate: Throne of Baal in 2001, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance in 2001, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II in 2004, Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear in 2016, and a coulple enhanced edition re-releases. As you can see, there’s been plenty of Baldur’s Gate over the years, but not that much recently. We got Siege of Dragonspear in 2016, but that was just a expansion.
As for Larian Studios, the Belgium-based developer was founded all the way back in 1996, but didn’t rise to prominence until 2014, when it dropped Divinity: Original Sin, a critically-acclaimed fantasy role-playing game. And then in 2017, it dropped a sequel, Divinity: Original Sin II, which really, really put it on the map. The game is widely considered one of the best RPGs of all time. In other words, there isn’t a better developer to revive a classic fantasy RPG series than Larian.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. How does Baldur’s Gate 3 look? Will you be picking it up when it releases?
