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[LectureMaster]

Baldur's Gate 3 Dev Now Giving "Full Attention" To Next Game, Codenamed Excalibur

What exactly is Excalibur? We have no idea, but it's in the works now.

www.gamespot.com

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Larian Studios is now giving its "full attention" to the team's next game, following the breakout success of Baldur's Gate 3. A spokesperson for the studio confirmed this to VideoGamer, adding that Larian will be on a "media blackout" going ahead.

[Larian boss Swen Vincke] and the team['s]… full attention is focused on crafting their next title," a spokesperson said.

Vincke also recently responded to a documentary about Larian titled "Larian Studios: From Bankruptcy to Baldur's Gate 3." The feature digs into Larian's origins and goes over the team's history as a game developer, leading up to the launch and huge success of Baldur's Gate 3.

Vincke said watching the video made him feel "all nostalgic." He added, "It really has been a incredible journey so far. But the story ain't over yet. Stay tuned. Going to try to skip the dark night of the soul moment though if you don't mind."

As for Larian's next game, the studio is working on a title codenamed "Excalibur." There is no word on what this game actually is, though we know it won't be Baldur's Gate 4.

Beyond Larian's next game, Vincke is thinking even further out and has grand plans to create a "very big RPG" that will "dwarf" any of Larian's previous releases. "It's an inspirational goal. That's it. I cannot say more, because it needs to stay in that dream-reality," he said.

While Larian will not make Baldur's Gate 4, Hasbro has said it is keen to expand the Baldur's Gate series with other teams. "We're going to take our time and find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product," Hasbro previously said about the future of Baldur's Gate.

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[LectureMaster]

2028, hope?

 

[Dacvak]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

They don’t wanna deal with WoTC anymore i’m guessing

 

[HRK69]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

Same. I'm waiting for the new update so I can start my 4th playtrough

There is just nothing like it

 

[Topher]

2028, hope?

Baldur's Gate 3 was announced back in 2019 so I'd guess 2029, but depends how much has been worked on so far.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

All the success to Larian.

Fuck Hasbro, though. I will laugh hard at their inevitable bomb.

 

[Dacvak]

They don’t wanna deal with WoTC anymore i’m guessing

Shit, I don’t blame them. Of all of the IPs I’ve parodied at my job, WoTC is the only one I’ve ever had legal trouble with. They are such a genuinely shit company.

Makes me so sad they own D&D.

 

[Topher]

With a code name like Excalibur then I'm thinking it is a literal reference to Arthurian legend or something to do with England.

Gun to my head and I'd guess Lord of the Rings.

 

[BennyBlanco]

With a code name like Excalibur then I'm thinking it is a literal reference to Arthurian legend or something to do with England.

Gun to my head and I'd guess Lord of the Rings.

That would be amazing, and the IP must be pretty cheap to use judging by the absolute slop that has come out in the last few years

 

[Sentenza]

2028, hope?

My prediction is that we MAY see something in Early Access (which is a formula I'm fully expecting the studio to stick with, since it worked well for them across three different games so far) by the next year already.
The final release on the other hand is a complete mystery and it depends a lot on the reception of said EA.

For context Larian has always been rather quick at "prototyping" and DOS 2 was in a state that could already show to the public not even a year after they released DOS 1.
On the other hand BG3 had to sit THREE YEARS in EA, but that was in the middle of COVID and the Russian-Ukraine war robbing them of their new russian studio they had just spent months setting up.

 

[Sentenza]

They don’t wanna deal with WoTC anymore i’m guessing

Yep, they never stated clearly because it wouldn't be professional to shit on the company you just closed a years-long collaboration with, but it seems quite clear that they weren't exactly thrilled about their experience about working on a licensed IP.
They already stated that BOTH the two titles they have in their pipeline will be based on proprietary IP (and at least one is rumored to be a completely new one).

Speaking of which, I'd be ready to bet that after trying for a bit they will drop any ambition of working on multiple games and will end up focusing entirely on their main project, as usual.

 

[AzekZero]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

The problem is Wizards of the Coast. They own a whole suite of intellectual properties and monsters that are featured in Baldur's Gate 3.

I don't think these guys contributed anything to BG3's success, while also charging the licensing fees and likely some other fees or percentage cuts.

 

[StereoVsn]

Yep, they never stated clearly because it wouldn't be professional to shit on the company you just closed a years-long collaboration with, but it seems quite clear that they weren't exactly thrilled about their experience about working on a licensed IP.
They already stated that BOTH the two titles they have in their pipeline will be based on proprietary IP (and at least one is rumored to be a completely new one).

Speaking of which, I'd be ready to bet that after trying for a bit they will drop any ambition of working on multiple games and will end up focusing entirely on their main project, as usual.

D:OS 3 kind of seems like an obvious thing for the next game as they have a base to build from.

But it could very well be a new IP altogether.

 

[Sentenza]

D:OS 3 kind of seems like an obvious thing for the next game as they have a base to build from.

But it could very well be a new IP altogether.

I'm not sure if I can track down the exact quote, but fishing from memory I think they already denied right after BG3 released that DOS 3 would be their next project.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Let's all hope they make the game they were destined to:

Life Is Strange 3

 

[bender]

With a code name like Excalibur then I'm thinking it is a literal reference to Arthurian legend or something to do with England.

Gun to my head and I'd guess Lord of the Rings.

They are remaking this banger.

 

[GateofD]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

I think whoever owns the IP didn’t think it was worth anything but since Latrian blew it up they took it back and want it all for themselves. That’s what I see anyway lol

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Do we know if that divinity tactics game is definitely scrapped?

 

[Hemingwayoffbase]

 

[Nikodemos]

Yep, they never stated clearly because it wouldn't be professional to shit on the company you just closed a years-long collaboration with, but it seems quite clear that they weren't exactly thrilled about their experience about working on a licensed IP.

They did put out some roundabout statements about how everybody in the inter-corporate comms team got canned by WotC almost immediately after the game went out of Early Access, or about the obstacles encountered when not having full creative control.

 

[Lux R7]

I hope Original Sin 3

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I want an original IP game set in old England and be grounded fantasy. Where you never know if magic is real or just smoke and mirrors, super harsh world and people.

 

[niilokin]

Arthurian fantasy rpg?

 

[mdkirby]

Anyone else find the media blackout, super secrecy of the games industry to be pretty weird. You hear about TV shows/films before they are even greenlit. But many games you don't even know exist until 4 years into development.

 

[TintoConCasera]

But many games you don't even know exist until 4 years into development.

And that's a good thing. Let them reveal the games when they are about to come out, instead of spending millions in years of marketing.

 

[mdkirby]

And that's a good thing. Let them reveal the games when they are about to come out, instead of spending millions in years of marketing.

They don't need to spend anything on marketing, YouTubers / influencers will write and vlog about it regardless. Plus if the interest is overwhelmingly negative they could at least in theory course correct before it is way way way too late

 

[Det]

Another example of how to make games and how the industry works that Phill Spencer still doesn't understand, no one wants to be a cheerleader for a video game company... People like games and not getting attention from executives industry to compensate for childhood parental abandonment.

We want games, not attention from "Daddy Phill" on the internet

 

[BlackTron]

More gaming companies could stand to ponder this idea of a media blackout while focusing on an actual job

 

[MLSabre]

More gaming companies could stand to ponder this idea of a media blackout while focusing on an actual job

Better still, stop interacting with nutjobs. Just announce the damn game is imminent and that'd be extent of community interaction.

 

[Hudo]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

Reportedly, it's a pain in the ass to work with Hasbro and WotC.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Just search on Youtube "Wizards of the Coast Hasbro woke" and you will get why Larian isn't working with them anymore.

A bunch of lunatics that can't go under soon enough.

 

[Hudo]

I wish Larian would do a Star Trek RPG

 

[Heaven Angel]

 

[Arachnid]

GOATs gon GOAT

I'm glad they just released mod kits and didn't fuck around with some shitty xpac. Onto the next, which is Day 1.

 

[Sentenza]

Just search on Youtube "Wizards of the Coast Hasbro woke" and you will get why Larian isn't working with them anymore.

A bunch of lunatics that can't go under soon enough.

Don't fool yourselves.
Larian isn't exactly taking an anti-woke stance on its own.

And with all its merits in other areas, BG3 may be one of the gayest games I've seen in years.
Most of the canonical couples you cross during the game are same-sex ones and your same-sex companions don't spare effort in the attempt to do the sweet butt-love with you.

 

[kruis]

They don’t wanna deal with WoTC anymore i’m guessing

WotC got an easy $90 million just for the license. That's money Larian could have kept for itself if they'd changed the BG title and made a few changes to the combat system and lore.

 

[mayham2199]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

I'm excited about this. I like the company and I don't want their talent to be tied into a license they don't own. That's only going to hold them back.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Aw, but why not BG4? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifelong Larian fan after BG3. But I don’t really want anything different, I just want more.

Play DOS2, BG3 is closer to DOS2 than any Mario Kart or Mario game or Souls game is to its predecessor.

DOS2 is closer to BG3 than TOTK is to BotW.

If you really loved BG3 and want more of it, like I do, then I would highly recommend DOS2.

I hear it is getting a remake or remaster, so it will actually probably be better than BG3 by the end of that if Larian is handling it. It also has equal VA to BG3 in quality and probably very close in quantity best I can tell. DOS2 was my goat before BG3, but I would have a hard time picking between them. Frankly, being a fan of Larian since well before BG3 and having marked BG3 as goty well before Phil and most other gamers even knew/cared it existed, I can tell you this. Baldur's Gate and even Dungeons and Dragons is just a meaningless IP and added really not much to BG3. It was all Larian. They can do this for any IP.

I argued countless hours online before launch with D&D fanboys who said larian was ruining Baldur's Gate and how their writing sucked and how it was BG in name only, before the game released. I never wavered in my knowledge that Larian was a better studio than any other one. I gained this knowledge thru DOS2.

 

[owandeseis]

No D&D combat rules just get me more hyped for their next game.

Hope we go back to randomly generated gear like in their D:OS games, makes replaying the game more interesting

 

[Magic Carpet]

Fuck Hasbro, though. I will laugh hard at their inevitable bomb.

Give Hasbro a break, it's hard work melting down truckloads of unsold Star Wars toys.

 

[Hudo]

I argued countless hours online before launch with D&D fanboys

RPGCodex?

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I just have a feeling their heads are getting inflated, and it'll be woke trash.

 

[XXL]

With a code name like Excalibur then I'm thinking it is a literal reference to Arthurian legend or something to do with England.

Gun to my head and I'd guess Lord of the Rings.

I want them to do something science fiction related (like Star Trek) but LOTR would be amazing.

 

[amigastar]

I wouldn't mind an earlier release even if the game would be smaller in scope than BG3.
Something like DOS 2.

 

[Sentenza]

Hope we go back to randomly generated gear like in their D:OS games

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, NO.

It's one of the aspects I *LOATHED* the most about the two DOS games for years and the area where BG3 improved their formula the most.

There's nothing that makes itemization feels more a pile of generic and worthless trash than being built over a bunch of randomized stats on generic items that you can randomly loot/buy anywhere at any moment.

And the D&D combat rules, while far from perfect, were a massive improvement over the "zeny wackiness" of what they came up with on their own in DOS 1 and 2.
D&D is as mediocre as it gets when it comes to pen & paper rulesets, but as a tabletop system it still runs circles around most of the "videogame-specific" rule systems out there.

 

[Sentenza]

I wouldn't mind an earlier release even if the game would be smaller in scope than BG3.
Something like DOS 2.

DOS 2 wasn't exactly a small game on its own, and interestingly enough in their original plans was supposed to be a lot bigger than it was too.
Imagine that every single major race (lizardmen, elfs, dwarves etc) was supposed to get a "homeland" at least as large as the entire map we explore in the second act of the game.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

And the D&D combat rules, while far from perfect, were a massive improvement over the "zeny wackiness" of what they came up with on their own in DOS 1 and 2.
D&D is as mediocre as it gets when it comes to pen & paper rulesets, but as a tabletop system it still runs circles around most of the "videogame-specific" rule systems out there.

To me D&D ruleset felt like a downgrade compared to DOS 2.

DOS 2 had actual build options, and encounters that tested all my abilities.

D&D in BG3 felt shoehorned, somewhere it didn’t belong. None of my buffs/debuffs were useful, and there are shitton of those in the game.

 

[Sentenza]

To me D&D ruleset felt like a downgrade compared to DOS 2.

DOS 2 had actual build options,

And they are all BROKEN beyond belief, so I'm not sure what argument you are even attempting to make here.

DOS suffers of the following problems:
- there's a lot of unnecessary number bloat, with a steep growth in numeric value from level to level that is absolutely unnecessary and even detrimental to the flow of the progression (especially in a non-linear game), creating basically a forced flow.
- the (shitty) randomized itemization means that rewards are seldom carefully placed and given after accomplishments that matter. It's far more easy to stumble into "good gear" completely by chance. Or if you are unlucky even to never find something that really fits the playstyle you were going for.
- "randomized rewards" is a AWFUL pairing with "limited number of encounters".
- excessive mobility/teleport options quickly make the map structure basically pointless, as everyone is constantly teleporting around anyway.
- the abuse of surfaces and surface effects stiffles most of other aspects of the environmental interaction
- perks are parted between basically mandatory and virtually useless with almost no in-between

and that's without going into the massive issues in specific subsystems like their horrendous "armor system", of which I could basically write books about (none of which would be about saying good things).

 

[vaibhavpisal]

And they are all BROKEN beyond belief, so I'm not sure what argument you are even attempting to make here.

DOS suffers of the following problems:
- there's a lot of unnecessary number bloat, with a steep growth in numeric value from level to level that is absolutely unnecessary and even detrimental to the flow of the progression (especially in a non-linear game), creating basically a forced flow.

I enjoy this. Some broken builds are fine as long as I don’t find them via guides online. Stumbling upon them myself feels satisfying. Its balanced by progression that makes it a fundamentally hard game.

Also this type of progression feels better cause level up feels rewarding.

- the (shitty) randomized itemization means that rewards are seldom carefully placed and given after accomplishments that matter. It's far more easy to stumble into "good gear" completely by chance. Or if you are unlucky even to never find something that really fits the playstyle you were going for.
- "randomized rewards" is a AWFUL pairing with "limited number of encounters".

I agree with this. Was hoping BG3 will have BG2 level of awesome loot. But it failed to capitalise on that.

- excessive mobility/teleport options quickly make the map structure basically pointless, as everyone is constantly teleporting around anyway.
- the abuse of surfaces and surface effects stiffles most of other aspects of the environmental interaction

Thats IM-Sim elements. Thats what made DOS2 so open ended.

I was disappointed with no of options I had in BG3 for approaching situations.