Just as they received the Game of the Year prize at the GDC Awards in San Francisco, the developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 announced through Larian CEO Swen Vincke that they wouldn’t continue to make a sequel or even DLCs for the acclaimed cRPG.
The news certainly took many fans by surprise, especially after the incredible success enjoyed by the game. The question was, then, whether Wizards of the Coast would let the franchise sit for a while or turn to another developer right away. The answer is apparently somewhere in the middle.
PC Gamer had the opportunity to speak with Eugene Evans, senior VP of Digital Strategy and Licensing for Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, after the BAFTA ceremony (where Larian’s game came out on top once again). According to Evans, the franchise will continue and Wizards of the Coast is already talking to many partners. At the same time, there won’t be any rush.
We’re now talking to lots of partners and being approached by a lot of partners who are embracing the challenge of, what does the future of the Baldur’s Gate franchise look like? So we certainly hope that it’s not another 25 years, as it was from Baldur’s Gate 2 to 3, before we answer that. But we’re going to take our time and find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product that could represent the future of Baldur’s Gate. We take that very, very seriously, as we do with all of our decisions around our portfolio. We don’t rush into decisions as to who to partner with on products or what products we should be considering. The bar has been set very high, and it’s our job to reach and surpass that bar.
The main thing fans would want to find in a new Baldur’s Gate installment are, of course, the characters created by Larian. Indeed, Evans confirmed they’d likely appear in new iterations.
Larian created a much loved cast of characters, who were even celebrated by their nominations, the voice actors behind them and the talent behind them was celebrated at the BAFTA Game Awards. And they are now essentially part of D&D canon.
I think it’s too early to express specifics and I think that there’s a much bigger question about how we approach Baldur’s Gate in the future. But I would like to think that all of those characters, for the sake of the fans, could potentially appear in future products.
Neil Newbon and Amelia Tyler, two of the most acclaimed voice actors (having played Astarion and the Narrator, respectively), have already expressed interest in returning. Let’s just hope Wizards of the Coast chooses well, as there aren’t many cRPG studios that could rival Larian’s work in the genre.
