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Larian Studios Won't Make Baldur's Gate 3 DLC, Expansions, or Baldur's Gate 4

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
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At a Game Developers Conference (GDC) panel today, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke dropped something of a bombshell by revealing that the developer isn't planning to release any expansions or DLC for Baldur's Gate 3, nor a Baldur's Gate 4.

Instead, Vincke said at the panel, Larian plans to move away from Dungeons & Dragons entirely and do something new, leaving the IP in Wizards of the Coast's hands.

It's a big surprise, considering the massive success of Baldur's Gate 3, with many fans assuming that a DLC or expansion would be on the way. Larian has released several major free patches that have added, among other things, a playable epilogue party.


'They were elated'​

Vincke says that he took a vacation over the Christmas holidays, and when he returned his mind was made up. ' came back and I told the team, ‘You know we’re not going to do it. We’re going to shift around and we’re going to start doing these other things that we talked about, that we planned on doing before we started on BG3.’ Those were always the plans for afterward, we have two games that we want to make, and we have lots of concepts. So let’s just have closure on BG3, it’s been great. We’ve done our job. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. So let’s pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy."

Asked how the studio responded, Vincke said the team was "elated."

“I thought they were going to be angry at me because I just couldn’t muster the energy. I saw so many elated faces, which I didn’t expect, and I could tell they shared the same feelings, so we were all aligned with one another. And I’ve had so many developers come to me after and say, ‘Thank god,'" Vincke says.

“I’m always the one where it starts with the initial idea and then I give it to the team and they start iterating it and they turn it into something much better. During BG3 I pitched to them what the next game would be…If I see they’re excited, I’ll say, ‘Okay let’s do that.’ If they’re not, it’s back to the drawing board. So they were very excited about a couple of the things we were planning on doing. Then the pivot to start doing BG3 DLC was expected because it’s what you do…We didn’t have any antagonism against BG4 or DLC, but the heart wasn’t there. It was more routine work than actually being excited. Now we have the excitement back in the room and that’s a big important thing.”

Now we have the excitement back in the room and that’s a big important thing.“

Vincke says the next game won't be Divinity: Original Sin 3, and that it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar." Elsewhere, Vincke said that the new project will "dwarf" the scope of Baldur's Gate 3, which would be quite impressive given the scope of that game.

In the meantime, Vincke has confirmed that Larian Studios is still working on more new content for Baldur's Gate 3, including cross-platform mod support. After that, though, the future of Astarion, Karlach, and the rest of Baldur's Gate 3's now-beloved characters will be in the hands of Wizards of the Coast.

 
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Draugoth

Gold Member
baldurs-gate-3-crafting.jpg

At a Game Developers Conference (GDC) panel today, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke dropped something of a bombshell by revealing that the developer isn't planning to release any expansions or DLC for Baldur's Gate 3, nor a Baldur's Gate 4.

Instead, Vincke said at the panel, Larian plans to move away from Dungeons & Dragons entirely and do something new, leaving the IP in Wizards of the Coast's hands.

via IGN
 

killatopak

Gold Member
Something new huh. I wonder if they can entertain something not fantasy. It doesn’t seem like a new Divinity is in the works based on that quote.
 
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Puscifer

Member
I refuse to believe there won't be a definitive edition at some point, there's way too many changes (for the better) and I believe they might stop and just drop one last giant update like they did for the divinity games.
 

Mister Wolf

Gold Member
Hopefully Wizards Of The Coast can get some other competent cRPG developer to bring back Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale. There aren't many though. Obsidian and Owlcat come to mind.
 
Good. I would rather studios focus on new projects than big DLC's and expansions. Elden Ring is the perfect example. I loved that game, even though it was a bit long in the tooth by the end of it. I would rather get a new Fromsoftware game 12-18months sooner than a new Elden Ring expansion

Also, Larian doesnt own the Baldurs Gate IP. So, from a financial perspective its probably best to build a new IP from the ground up where they can make all the money and not split it up. I'm sure Larian would have done DLC if they owned the IP

Edit- Just looked up. Larian only made 90 million in revenue from BG3, WTF? The game has sold 10+ mill copies. That seems fucking awful
 
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Belthazar

Member
That's a very smart move. They need to build strong IP that they own now that they're a big player in the industry

Also, Hasbro must be a bitch to work with and probably would've asked an astronomycal fee after BG3's success.
 

Xyphie

Member
Makes perfect sense. Just make a new fantasy IP and escape the licensed D&D IP yoke. The game is going to sell extremely well either way. See FROM dropping the Dark Souls IP in favor of one they own themselves.
 
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Kacho

Gold Member
Ok, some additional context from the article. This is what Tom Bulter said at Gamescom last year:

"We'll carry on patching for a while and then we're all going to take a holiday and then we'll figure out what we do next," Butler said at the time. "But at the moment, we genuinely have discussions. We want to do more. We don't know what yet."

So, they ultimately made the decision to step away. Why? Who knows. Licensing costs, lack of creative control, didn't enjoy working with Wizards, etc.

Larian is in the perfect spot right now with their name firmly in everyone's mind. People will play whatever they work on next, so why not be an IP you own for maximum profit? Hats off to them.

I hope Owlcat takes a stab at a D&D cRPG. I prefer their games for the character building possibilities.
 
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Comandr

Member
After hearing what wizards of the coast is doing with d&d I’m not surprised. Looking forward to their next game regardless.
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Yeah wizards was trying to sell them the IP.

You can read between the lines that the partnership here doesn’t exist lol. Wizards likely trying to fuck them.

All good. Since owlcat can’t afford to do big crpgs just buy warhammer 40k rights and go make a better 40k game lol.

Me personally I’d love if they did a Diablo like game in their own universe. They would kill it.
 
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