Larian was shot down the first time it wanted to make Baldur's Gate 3
But it got another chance soon after.
Baldur's Gate 3 is being developed by Divinity: Original Sin developer Larian Studios, and the pair seem like a good fit. Larian's been designing RPGs for decades, with its most recent games almost feeling like digital tabletop adaptations themselves. But when Larian first approached Wizards of the Coast about making a new Baldur's Gate, the studio was turned down.
"I went to them after Divinity: Original Sin and I tried to convince them back then, but they said we were a bit too green," says CEO Swen Vincke.
Divinity: Original Sin was successful enough to warrant a sequel, so Larian started work on that instead. After Larian started showing off Original Sin 2, Wizards of the Coast started to take notice. This time it got in touch with Larian.
"They saw what we were doing and asked if we were still interested," says Vincke. "That got the ball rolling. During Divinity: Original Sin 2, we had to submit the design for it, but it was annoying because we were about to release DOS2. So we sat in a hotel for a weekend the month before release, me and a couple of writers and designers, and we made the initial design document. It wasn't very good, but it had the core ideas and they did like it, so they asked us to make another version."
That became Baldur's Gate 3's design document, and since then Larian's been able to get Wizards of the Coast to sign off on their vision for the game.
"It's very refreshing to have the level of trust they gave us," says Vincke.
Take a look our full Baldur's Gate 3 reveal for more details on Larian's upcoming RPG.
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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
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