With Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios breathed new life into the rather stagnant RPG genre, offering a smorgasbord of choice in its gameplay and offering hundreds of possible endings. However, the future of the Baldur’s Gate franchise has taken a surprising turn.
In a recent interview at the Digital Dragons conference in Poland, Swen Vincke, director of Baldur’s Gate 3 and head of Larian Studios, confirmed the studio is moving on from the beloved RPG series. This news comes alongside the exciting announcement of Larian’s new Warsaw studio and their focus on developing two ambitious new RPG titles.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Director Wants a Unique Take On The Series
Speaking with GamesRadar+, Vincke expressed his confidence in the team developing the next Baldur’s Gate title:
It’s gonna be up to them. They have to do their own thing, right. So I’m not going to poison the well, for them to have to take advice. So I look forward to seeing what they’re gonna do with it. I honestly, I there’s so many things that you could do.
Baldur’s Gate 3 may have charmed tens of millions of RPG fans with its expansive world and seemingly endless character customization, but Larian Studios is ready to explore new creative avenues.
Larian Will Continue To Develop Exciting New Projects
Larian Studios isn’t simply walking away from the RPG genre, though. To fulfill their creative hunger, they’ve established a new studio in Warsaw, Poland, which will work alongside the main studio in Ghent, Belgium, on two unannounced RPGs.
Details on these two new RPGs remain under wraps for now, but Vincke assures fans that neither will be “small” endeavors. Considering the vast scope of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian may be aiming high for their next projects.
Vincke also acknowledged the challenges associated with large-scale game development, emphasizing that the size of a project should be determined by its specific needs. “The scale of [Baldur’s Gate 3] was really what the game needed, at least the way that we were making it,” remarked Vincke.
While Baldur’s Gate 3 thrived under its expansive design, Vincke expressed a desire for a more manageable development process for the upcoming titles, hoping that the next two games don’t “explode” in size in the same way, alluding to the potential pitfalls of unbridled ambition.
Larian worked on Baldur’s Gate 3 for six years, so its decision to move on from the licensed IP signifies a studio eager to push boundaries and explore fresh possibilities within the RPG genre. While the future of Baldur’s Gate rests in the hands of a new team, Larian seems to want to pave their own path to success.
