The involvement of Larian Studios in recreating the rich universe of Dungeons & Dragons is unquestionable: Baldur's Gate 3 is the video game that best captures the fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms and, furthermore, the genuine rules of the paper and pencil game. . An effort that originated before its launch and is still evident with monthly updates that not only improve the result, but also add free content. And after that? The only thing we know is that the future of the saga It will no longer be in the hands of the Belgians.
On the occasion of the Game Developers Conference, the founder of Larian Studios Swen Vincke (who attended the Game Awards wearing armor) announced that his studio will turn the page on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise for its next projects. In fact, he was very specific about it: they have no plans to release any expansions or DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3 and they rule out the development of a possible fourth installment. What does that mean?
These statements do not close the door to the future. Baldur’s Gate 4: the saga of video games, novels and everything related to The Sword Coast would pass into other hands in the event that they want to continue in that direction. And there are millions of reasons to do so: launched in the summer of 2023, the last time we saw the sales figures, the barrier of 10 million copies sold was surpassed. And the new physical editions that will arrive this year have not yet been sent.
What will happen to Larian Studios in the future? The short-term plans have not changed: they will continue to refine the experience of Baldur’s Gate 3 and rounding out the contents of what is already one of the best games of the generation and the decade; as well as the obsession of millions of players and lovers of fantasy. However, and according to Vincke's statements, with regard to the study they have also ruled out a Divinity: Original Sin 3 and they are already working on something “new and different from what we might expect” and at the same time “it will feel familiar.”
“It goes against expectations, but I have never been more sure of a change in strategy. This is the right thing for Larian. I understand that there will be disappointment because people fell in love with what we created but it was a story with a beginning, a middle and a final and needs no more. The team has grown a lot during Baldurs Gate 3 and I think you can be very excited about what that growth means for our next adventure.”
“It's not easy for us to say goodbye, but we also knew from the beginning that one day we would have to do it. We learned a lot creating Baldurs Gate 3 and I'm looking forward to taking those lessons applied to new characters. On the other hand, we're not done with the Baldurs Gate 3 update. There's still a ton of stuff coming, like support for mods and additional cinematics for some of the endings. It won't be new content, though.”
The bar that has left Baldur’s Gate 3 is very high, but it has also known how to mark the way forward for role-playing games in general and those set in worlds of Dungeons & Dragons in particular: instead of filling its worlds with dull missions, limited possibilities and characters without background that obey the interests of the narrative, a universe rich in possibilities was fostered in which all the characters have something to say and each action has a meaning. weight and consequences.
In any case, two things are clear: embark or resume our game in Baldur’s Gate 3 It will continue to get better and better and whatever is brewing at Larian Studios, they already have our full interest. In fact, they won't need to have a good roll of the dice for their next game to be a success.
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