Baldur’s Gate 3 was a massive success, both critically and commercially, and rightly so. It was a phenomenal RPG experience with a truly tremendous amount of finely crafted content. While developer Larian has already confirmed that they won’t be working on the series in the future, D&D parent company Wizards of the Coast is already talking to other studios in an effort to start on the next Baldur’s Gate game.
In an interview with PC Gamer following the BAFTA awards, Wizards of the Coast senior vice president of Digital Strategy and Licensing Eugene Evans briefly discussed the company’s efforts to continue the Baldur’s Gate franchise:
“We’re now talking to lots of partners and being approached by a lot of partners who are embracing the challenge of, what does the future of the Baldur’s Gate franchise look like? So we certainly hope that it’s not another 25 years, as it was from Baldur’s Gate 2 to 3, before we answer that. But we’re going to take our time and find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product that could represent the future of Baldur’s Gate. We take that very, very seriously, as we do with all of our decisions around our portfolio. We don’t rush into decisions as to who to partner with on products or what products we should be considering.
Larian created a much-loved cast of characters, who were even celebrated by their nominations, the voice actors behind them and the talent behind them was celebrated at the [BAFTAS]. And they are now essentially part of D&D canon. I think it’s too early to express specifics and I think that there’s a much bigger question about how we approach Baldur’s Gate in the future. But I would like to think that all of those characters, for the sake of the fans, could potentially appear in future products.”
It makes perfect sense that Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast would be hungry to capitalize on the overwhelming success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Whether they’re able to do so without Larian is a different story entirely, but they’ve already begun working on other D&D video game projects in the interrim, says Evans:
“So first of all, the level of engagement doesn’t surprise us in some ways, because D&D fans are just so engaged with the hobby. They love every expression of it, whether it was the movie that was greatly celebrated by the fanbase, or Baldur’s Gate 3. But certainly it has demonstrated, or confirmed if you like, the voracious appetite the fans have for content around D&D, in particular video games. Which is good, because we have been investing in new D&D game development ourselves.
Those games will appear over the next five years, and they will cover all genres, all platforms. And I think there’s room within the D&D universe for many expressions of what D&D is all about, as long as we remain true to the things that people love about D&D and keep it authentic to the IP. And we’re committed to doing that.”
Whatever the future holds for Baldur’s Gate, we hope it continues to reach the highs of Larian’s own behemoth. It’ll take a truly talented studio to maintain the same standard of quality. We can only hope that Wizards of the Coast picks a willing and capable studio to further the great foundation that’s already been set.
Source: PC Gamer