As you may know, Larian Studios announced back in March that they had finished work on Baldur’s Gate 3 and wanted to move on. The team explained that they had some ideas in mind, but decided not to do anything with them. Now we find out that the studio had actually already started working on a sequel.
In fact, this “Baldur’s Gate 4” was already in a playable form.
Words from the CEO of Larian Studios
Speaking to PC Gamer, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke explained: “If something is a big success, of course everyone asks, ‘When are you going to make the next one?’ And when you, as a developer, come out of this little, miserable cave that you’ve been sitting in for many, many hours while you finish your work, you’re vulnerable.”
Vincke was open to the idea of another Baldur’s Gate. “You tend to do the obvious thing, which is make an add-on, or a standalone piece of content, or start working on a sequel, because that’s the easiest path to go down.”
So Larian began working on a sequel. Initially, it was an expansion. “We have the engine, we have everything in here, all we have to do is add more levels or create new stories… how hard can that be?” the CEO explains he thought.
Progress was rapid, but knowing how difficult it is to work on a project like this, it quickly became clear that it wasn’t worth working on an expansion: it was better to work on a proper sequel, and so they did. However, this would have meant “doing the same thing” for many more years, and the team wasn’t keen on being stuck on Baldur’s Gate. Vinke explains that he prefers the team to work on things they are passionate about. Having decided not to work on BG 4 made them feel relieved, the CEO explains.
Incidentally, Baldur’s Gate 3 won so many awards that it slowed down work inside Larian Studios.
