Baldur’s Gate 3 fans might feel a bit mixed as Larian Studios announced they are moving their attention away from the franchise. During a recent GDC talk and on social media, Larian founder Swen Vincke confirmed that the popular RPG won’t have any expansions or a direct sequel like Baldur’s Gate 4.
Vincke said the reason they want to stop working on Baldur’s Gate 3 is because the story is finished. He explained that the game already has a full story arch and doesn’t need more. However, the studio is still working on updates for the game, like official mod support and extra cinematics for the endings. These updates won’t have any new story content.
With Larian moving on, ownership of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its beloved characters is now with the Dungeons and Dragons license holder, Wizards of the Coast. Vincke expresses confidence in Wizards of the Coast and believes they’ll treat the game well. This leaves the possibility of future developments in the Baldur’s Gate universe, though not directly from Larian.
Vincke stated that Larian’s next project will not be related to Dungeons & Dragons. The details of this new venture are still unknown, but fans can anticipate the studio’s usual ambition. Vincke added that the team had advanced a lot during the development of Baldur’s Gate 3 and that he was confident in the future.
“Counter expectations but I’ve never been more sure about a strategy shift. This is the right thing for Larian. I understand there will be disappointment because people fell in love with what we created but it was a story with a beginning, middle and an end and it doesn’t need more. The team has grown a lot during Bg3 and I think you can be very excited for what that growth means for our next game. As for BG3 and its characters – they now belong to Wizards of The Coast and I think they understand how important they are for the community. I trust that they’ll be treated with respect. It’s not easy for us to say goodbye to them but we also knew from the get go we’d have to one day. We learnt a lot from creating them and I’m very eager to see those lessons applied to new characters. Also – we’re not done with updating Bg3. There’s still a bunch of stuff coming like mod support and extra cinematics for some of the endings. Just not new content.”
Swen Vincke (entire Twitter thread)
The news about Baldur’s Gate 3 is a mix of good and not-so-good. Fans wanted more additional content or a new game led by Larian. However, the focus on making the current game better is somewhat comforting. The new mod support could also make the game last longer and let players create their own stuff.
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