Needless to say, Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a success beyond anybody’s wildest expectations, racking of GOTY awards and over 10 million in sales, so what’s next for the game’s developer Larian Studios? More content for Baldur’s Gate 3 followed by Baldur’s Gate 4, right? Strike while the iron’s hot!
Well, about that… at a GDC 2024 panel, Larian CEO Swen Vincke made the surprising announcement that the company is moving on from Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Forgotten Realms setting. That is to say, they aren’t making Baldur’s Gate 4 and there won’t even be any major DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3.
“We’re not going to make new expansions, which everyone is expecting us to do. We’re not going to make Baldur’s Gate 4… we’re going to move on.”
Vincke went on to say that Larian’s next thing will be “something new,” which would seem to imply they won’t be going back to their previous Divinity series, which was popular in its own right, but nowhere near as successful as Baldur’s Gate 3.
It’s certainly atypical for a studio to move onto something new after scoring a major hit, to the point one wonders if the relationship between Larian and D&D owner Wizards of the Coast has soured somehow. Of course maybe Larian just wants to fully own the rights to their next thing – if it ends up being anywhere near as popular as BG3, that would be very lucrative for them.
Of course, Baldur’s Gate didn’t begin with Larian. The first two entries were developed by BioWare, and Wizards of the Coasts owns the IP, so an Baldur’s Gate 4 may happen, Larian just won’t be involved. Anybody who tries to step into their shoes will have their work cut out for them.
Baldur’s Gate 3 can be played on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. What are your thoughts on Larian’s decision? Are you sad BG3 is a one and done? Or would you rather see Larian move on to other things?
