"Larian Abandons Playable Baldur's Gate 4"

As Larian Studios, the creators of the 2023 Game of the Year, Baldur's Gate 3, prepare for their next ventures, CEO Swen Vincke has shared intriguing insights into a project they've decided to leave behind.

A Follow-Up to BG3 Was Already “Playable” According to Larian

BG3 DLC and BG4 Ultimately Shelved as Larian Moves On from Franchise

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke disclosed that the team had been developing a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3 before opting to pursue new endeavors. This follow-up, already in a "playable" state, was something Vincke believed fans "would have liked."

"It's something that you all would have liked, I think," Vincke stated. "I'm sure, actually. And we actually went pretty fast, because the production machine was still warm. You could already play stuff. But you played it and you looked at it, and, like, you know, this is OK." However, after years dedicated to the Dungeons & Dragons universe, the team felt hesitant to commit to more time on the same IP. "I mean, we'll probably have to redo it 10 times. And do we really want to do this for the next three years?"

While the idea of Baldur's Gate 4 was appealing, the prospect of spending additional years on a similar project did not excite Vincke or the developers. Instead, Vincke emphasized the studio's desire to pursue their original ideas and bring them to fruition.

Morale Remains High at Larian Studios

"We should be looking at how we can do stuff that we get excited about," he remarked. After consulting with his teams, the consensus was clear: move on. Following their success at The Game Awards 2023, Larian Studios took a decisive step away from Baldur's Gate 3, choosing not to develop the sequel to the acclaimed 2023 Game of the Year.

"I don't think, as developers, we ever felt better since we took that decision [to not make BG4]," Vincke expressed. "Honestly, you really cannot explain or express it, how liberated we are. So morale is super high, just because we're doing new stuff again."

"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," senior product manager Tom Butler stated at the time. With both Baldur's Gate 4 and an expansion to Baldur's Gate 3 shelved for the same reasons, Larian is now focusing on two upcoming, undisclosed projects, which Vincke claims will be their greatest yet.

Prior to their work on the Baldur’s Gate series, Larian Studios developed the Divinity series, which might see a new entry now that they've moved away from Dungeons & Dragons. Just before BG3’s release in August last year, Vincke hinted that a sequel to Divinity: Original Sin was "definitely on the horizon," though the team needed to prioritize Baldur’s Gate 3 first. While the details of these projects remain under wraps, Vincke has clarified that their next project in the series will not be Divinity: Original Sin 3, but something different from what fans might expect.

Meanwhile, Baldur's Gate 3's final major patch, scheduled for fall 2024, will introduce official mod support, cross-play, and new evil endings.