It’s Officially The End Of An Era For Baldur’s Gate
It's not far of a stretch to say that Baldur's Gate 3 has been one of the most monumental games of the past decade, offering a uniquely cinematic CRPG that is hard to find an exact replacement for. While there have been plenty of competitors and even official new releases to tie players over, one of the biggest questions that comes up when discussing the GOTY winner is what the future of the Baldur's Gate franchise has in store for fans.
Although Wizards of the Coast has made it clear that they aren't willing to let go of the massively popular IP and characters introduced in Baldur's Gate 3 anytime soon, a recent announcement by the original developers of the game solidifies that we truly are at a major shifting point for the beloved Dungeons & Dragons spinoff.
Larian Really Is Done With Baldur's Gate
Although the development team behind the legendary Baldur's Gate 3 has already stated that they are stepping away from the series and will not be working on the next anticipated game from the CRPG franchise, Larian Studios on X has officially declared that not only are they not involved with any sequels, but that they are "not involved in any BG3 related projects."
Even if it doesn't come as a major surprise, given that Larian Studios had made it clear the studio has moved on from the lengthy CRPG after years of free content updates, the official confirmation feels like the final nail in the coffin for BG3.
Considering Larian kept coming back to work on BG3 long after they said they weren't planning to update the game anymore, it was more than a little hard to believe Larian was fully moving on at first, but their latest post alongside past announcements makes it seem like the writers won't be involved in the series whatsoever moving forward.
Divinity Is The Focus Moving Forward
Although it's completely fair for Larian to move on from the series after having it be the studio's primary focus for so long, it does pose a few concerns regarding the quality of content surrounding Baldur's Gate 3 and its sequels from now on, as the developers were notorious for having high standards that will pose a unique challenge for future adaptations, let alone when it comes to picking a canon route for certain character choices
It isn't all doom and gloom, however, as not only was the announcement made in response to a highly anticipated Dark Horse comic starring Karlach from BG3, but Larian Studios is still hard at work on their next CPRG with Divinity. Although we still don't know too many details about the upcoming game, the fully independent release won't have nearly the same amount of restrictions as the D&D-based Baldur's Gate 3, as evidenced in its initial reveal trailer.