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