The success of Baldur’s Gate 3, a singleplayer sequel to an old RPG, has put Larian CEO Swen Vincke in the spotlight as some kind of industry hero. Singleplayer games dead? Nah, that’s nonsense! Wizards of the Coast bothering modders? Back off, fools! After dropping the massive patch 8 for Baldur’s Gate 3, which is supposedly the final big update, Vincke has been basking in victory before diving into Larian’s next big projects.
One key thing about Baldur’s Gate 3’s post-release content is that, surprisingly, none of it is paid DLC. Sure, there’s the Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade with some cosmetics and stuff, but every player gets the full experience without shelling out extra cash. In an interview with Gamespot, Vincke talks about Larian’s stance on DLC and why they decided to skip it for Baldur’s Gate 3 despite its success.
“It’s kind of boring, to be honest,” chuckles Vincke. “We thought about doing DLC for BG3, but there’s just no passion in it. Happy player, happy business, sure, but you need happy developers too. What we’re doing now makes developers way happier.”
Vincke spills the beans on Larian’s next crazy ambitious project in a recent interview. It’s still early days, though, so don’t hold your breath – this thing won’t see the light of day for years. The CEO also mentions a brief consideration of expanding Baldur’s Gate 3 at some point, but the studio decided against it.
“We heard the usual spiel about making tons of DLC for a hit game, but then we paused and thought, ‘What are we even doing?'” Vincke explains. “Sometimes you start down the wrong path and then you’re like, ‘Screw it, let’s change course.’ Sorry for the language.”
Larian’s upcoming game won’t be Baldur’s Gate 4, that’s for sure. They’ve got two projects in the works, one of them being an RPG codenamed Excalibur. It sounds all medieval and cool, but apparently, it’s not what you’d expect.
Rich, a seasoned games journalist with a decade and a half under his belt, has quite the resume. From Edge magazine to outlets like Ars Technica, GamesRadar+, and Vice, he’s covered it all. He even wrote a book on the history of video games, praised by the Midwest Book Review.
In conclusion, Larian Studios is shaking things up in the gaming industry with their approach to post-release content for Baldur’s Gate 3 and their future projects. Vincke’s no-nonsense attitude and focus on keeping developers happy are refreshing in an industry often driven by profit. Stay tuned for more news on Larian’s next big thing, even if it’s years away.
