Forward-looking: As the 2023 awards season marks Baldur’s Gate 3 as one of the most celebrated games ever, developer Larian Studios and Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro are going their separate ways. Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast want to maintain the iconic tabletop franchise’s ongoing positive momentum while Larian begins work on something new.
Wizards of the Coast recently told PC Gamer that it is negotiating with other companies to build on the explosive success of Baldur’s Gate 3, but we might not hear details on follow-up projects for some time. Meanwhile, Larian is preparing another large update for its award-winning RPG.
Patch 7 will bring bug fixes and improve the game’s evil endings with new cinematics and music. The studio previously confirmed that it’s also working on cross-platform mod tools. Future patches will introduce cross-play multiplayer and a photo mode.
Outside of those features, bug fixes, and optimizations, the Swedish studio is walking away from Baldur’s Gate. It has no plans for Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC, expansions, or Baldur’s Gate 4. Instead, Larian will return to building its own properties and confirmed that it’s currently developing two new projects.
While it’s likely too soon for hard details on the next Larian game, the company promises that it carries the same spirit that created Baldur’s Gate 3. Founder and CEO Swen Vincke believes the next title will be the studio’s best game yet. That might be a tall order, as last year’s Dungeons & Dragons-themed RPG recently became the first game to ever win Game of the Year at all five major awards events: The Game Awards, the Golden Joysticks, the Game Developers Choice Awards, the DICE Summit, and the BAFTAs.
Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are still deciding how to continue making Dungeons & Dragons video games, but Baldur’s Gate 4 is definitely an option. The companies don’t want to repeat the two-decade hiatus that passed between Baldur’s Gate 2 and 3, but they are taking their time to consider their options carefully.
However, another project similar to Baldur’s Gate 3 could prove difficult. Not many developers have demonstrated the capacity for an RPG that combines similar levels of complexity, expansiveness, and production values. The studios most similar to Larian currently have a lot on their plates.
BioWare, the company behind the first two Baldur’s Gate entries, is currently busy with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and the next Mass Effect game. Microsoft-owned Obsidian, known for Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas, is preparing to launch Avowed this year and later The Outer Worlds 2. InXile, another Microsoft subsidiary that previously released Wasteland 3 and Torment: Tides of Numenera, is working on Clockwork Revolution.