Source:
https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast

Larian Studios won’t make any more Baldur’s Gate games

The studio isn’t making the obvious next move
By Carli Velocci Mar 21, 2024, 3:16pm EDT

Now that Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a huge success both critically and
financially, people are looking forward to what’s next for developer
Larian Studios. However, according to studio founder Swen Vincke, the
future doesn’t lie with the Baldur’s Gate franchise or Dungeons &
Dragons as a whole.

During a talk at the Game Developers Conference on Thursday (spotted by
IGN and confirmed by Polygon in a video on the official conference
TikTok), Vincke said that Larian won’t be working on any DLC,
expansions, or a sequel for the game. It would be handing the IP back to
Wizards of the Coast and moving on to unrelated projects.

“Baldur’s Gate 3 will always have a heart — a warm spot in our hearts.
We’ll forever be proud of it, but we’re not going to continue it. We’re
not going to make new expansions, which everybody is expecting us to do.
We’re not going to make Baldur’s Gate 4, which everybody is expecting us
to do. We’re going to move on, we’re going to move away from D&D, and
we’re going to start making a new thing,” he said.

Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian, confirmed the news in a
post on X (formerly Twitter). “Had a lot of time to reflect on this
incredible adventure as everyone has, and I can’t explain how excited I
am for the next. Hope you join us for that!” he wrote.

Vincke spoke more about the decision with Gamespot. He explained that he
initially wanted to make more Baldur’s Gate, but decided against it.

“That’s not what we were made for,” Vincke said. “That’s literally the
opposite of what Larian is about. We want to do big, new things. We
don’t want to rehash the thing that we’ve done already.”

All of this doesn’t mean Larian won’t continue to work on Baldur’s Gate
3. Just last month, Douse announced that the team would be working on a
“cross-platform plan for mod support,” with implementation still many
months away.

Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, recognized how successful
Baldur’s Gate 3 was in its 2023 financial report released last month. It
stated that much of Wizard of the Coast and digital gaming’s growth can
be attributed to Monopoly Go!, Magic: The Gathering, and Baldur’s Gate
3. It’s also been a huge success critically, winning multiple awards.
Just a day before the announcement, Baldur’s Gate 3 won four trophies at
the Game Developers Choice Awards (also put on by GDC), including game
of the year. It also won game of the year at The Game Awards in 2023.

Hasbro is therefore interested in growing its gaming output and leaning
on the Baldur’s Gate franchise, as company CEO Chris Cocks mentioned in
an earnings call to coincide with the report.

“2024 is about returning consumer products to profitability, investing
for long-term momentum in games, and driving significant improvements in
Hasbro’s bottom line [...] In short, we’re putting all the right pieces
together to keep investing in our growth initiatives while expanding the
ways our franchises reach fans through digital games,” Cocks said. “We
expect a long tail into 2024 and beyond for this mega hit.

However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.

On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> Source:
> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>
I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this. Finally a company
that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly milk a cash
cow. Until this last paragraph....

>
> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.

That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:40:47 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

>Source:
>https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>
>
>Larian Studios won’t make any more Baldur’s Gate games

There's also a D&D survival video game in development, which
superficially sounds interesting (in many ways, D&D was the original
survival game, especially once outdoor adventures were introduced ;-)
but will probably just be the another "Ark: Evolved" or "Sons of the
Forest" except with a D&D skin applied to it. That it's being
developed by Gameloft - who primarily makes mobile games - doesn't
inspire a lot of hope either.

On 3/22/2024 4:20 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:40:47 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Source:
>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>
>>
>> Larian Studios won’t make any more Baldur’s Gate games
>
> There's also a D&D survival video game in development, which
> superficially sounds interesting (in many ways, D&D was the original
> survival game, especially once outdoor adventures were introduced ;-)
> but will probably just be the another "Ark: Evolved" or "Sons of the
> Forest" except with a D&D skin applied to it. That it's being
> developed by Gameloft - who primarily makes mobile games - doesn't
> inspire a lot of hope either.
>
>

I would argue that Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival was the original
survival game.
Especially as original D&D used the map from that as their own game
board. (which is I think because Dave Arneson did that in his campaign).

Wait a moment, isn't Avalon Hill by now owned by Hasbro? I sense some
opportunity none of them have likely considered yet.

I don't have any belief in that survival game being any good. Unless
Gameloft decides to actually put effort in this will be just random
shit. And considering WotC is in milk-the-cash-cow mode right now, I
doubt anyone will put actual effort into that.

On 3/22/2024 3:37 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>> Source:
>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>
> I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this.  Finally a company
> that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly milk a cash
> cow.  Until this last paragraph....
>
>>
>> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
>> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
>> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.
>
> That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
> thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."
>

Maybe WotC thinks they don't need that team anymore and that they can
replace them by AI. Seems to be their favorite idea lately.

On 3/22/2024 10:26 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/22/2024 3:37 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>>> Source:
>>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>>
>> I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this.  Finally a
>> company that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly
>> milk a cash cow.  Until this last paragraph....
>>
>>>
>>> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
>>> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
>>> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.
>>
>> That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
>> thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."
>>
>
> Maybe WotC thinks they don't need that team anymore and that they can
> replace them by AI. Seems to be their favorite idea lately.

http://www.dorktower.com/2024/03/18/18518/
and the two comics following it....

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
> Source:
> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast

> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.

#@#$%^ Hazardbruh shooting themselves in the foot again. Too bad
they're a corporate centipede and have some left.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:26:28 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 3/22/2024 3:37 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>>> Source:
>>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>>
>> I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this.  Finally a company
>> that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly milk a cash
>> cow.  Until this last paragraph....
>>
>>>
>>> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
>>> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
>>> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.
>>
>> That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
>> thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."
>>
>
>Maybe WotC thinks they don't need that team anymore and that they can
>replace them by AI. Seems to be their favorite idea lately.

Larian has actually issued a statement saying that the reason for the
departure is most definitively not bad blood between Larian and WOTC*
and, honestly, I can see that. In fact, I seem to recall the
developers saying - prior to the game's release - that there were no
real plans for them turning their game into a franchise anyway; that
for Larian "Baldur's Gate 3" was intended to be a one-and-done game.
The company has never been averse to going off and doing their own
thing, and has always professed to prefer to be in charge of their own
destiny rather than beholden to an IP licensor or publisher.

So this departure, rather than indicative of some breakdown in
relations between WOTC, seems perfectly in tune with Larian. I'm not
reading any more into it except that Larian likes to make their own
games, and while BG3 was a profitable side-hustle, it was never
intended to be their 'main gig'.

* no mention of their relations with Hasbro, though ;-)

On 3/23/2024 6:54 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:26:28 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 3/22/2024 3:37 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>> On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:
>>>> Source:
>>>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>>>
>>> I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this.  Finally a company
>>> that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly milk a cash
>>> cow.  Until this last paragraph....
>>>
>>>>
>>>> However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
>>>> Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
>>>> includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.
>>>
>>> That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
>>> thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."
>>>
>>
>> Maybe WotC thinks they don't need that team anymore and that they can
>> replace them by AI. Seems to be their favorite idea lately.
>
> Larian has actually issued a statement saying that the reason for the
> departure is most definitively not bad blood between Larian and WOTC*
> and, honestly, I can see that. In fact, I seem to recall the
> developers saying - prior to the game's release - that there were no
> real plans for them turning their game into a franchise anyway; that
> for Larian "Baldur's Gate 3" was intended to be a one-and-done game.
> The company has never been averse to going off and doing their own
> thing, and has always professed to prefer to be in charge of their own
> destiny rather than beholden to an IP licensor or publisher.
>
> So this departure, rather than indicative of some breakdown in
> relations between WOTC, seems perfectly in tune with Larian. I'm not
> reading any more into it except that Larian likes to make their own
> games, and while BG3 was a profitable side-hustle, it was never
> intended to be their 'main gig'.
>

I'm betting on a cash grab hack job by another publisher for BG4.
Either that or Hazardbros throws enough money at Larian to tempt them
into it, but that seems a very remote chance seeing all their crap
decisions of late.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

In article <utjjmv$2rgo2$1@dont-email.me>, gmkeros@gmail.com wrote:

> Source:
> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>
>Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has been a huge success both critically and
>financially, people are looking forward to what's next for developer
>Larian Studios. However, according to studio founder Swen Vincke, the
>future doesn't lie with the Baldur's Gate franchise or Dungeons &
>Dragons as a whole.

That sounds like a very stupid decision.

--
Let's go Brandon!

Ubiquitous wrote:
> In article <utjjmv$2rgo2$1@dont-email.me>, gmkeros@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Source:
>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>
>> Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has been a huge success both critically and
>> financially, people are looking forward to what's next for developer
>> Larian Studios. However, according to studio founder Swen Vincke, the
>> future doesn't lie with the Baldur's Gate franchise or Dungeons &
>> Dragons as a whole.
>
> That sounds like a very stupid decision.

It sounds like the whole studio got burned out making BG III. Maybe the
payoff wasn't worth the effort. My friend gave it a very negative
review on Steam. Also they are still competing with Elden Ring which on
the other hand is definitely a top seller.

Just think how much over the top BG IV will have to be, they would have
to spend a million man hours each throwing themselves into the game
development. I think that's the real issue that it is slog work. How
would you like to be a slave lifting giant blocks to build a pyramid
funereal resting place for some self-obsessed pharaoh? The top games
cost 100s of millions of dollars to make. Maybe by this point in time
there is a game that costed over a billion to develop.

It sounds like a very sad decision but I wouldn't call it stupid. I'm
playing Divinity II on and off, and it is a work of art. I appreciate
Larian, but I've always thought Baldur's Gate was more for the unwashed
masses. Both the Shannara books and Lord of the Rings start with an
ignoble hero forced to pick up and go on the march. Can you even play
the game and not suspect that Sauron is behind it all? What drew me
back to the game several times was the image of a ring in an early chest
in the fortress-city of Candlekeep.
--
Heya it's me, Imoen.

On 4/3/2024 4:20 AM, Lane Larson wrote:
> Ubiquitous wrote:
>> In article <utjjmv$2rgo2$1@dont-email.me>, gmkeros@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> Source:
>>> https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>>>
>>> Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has been a huge success both critically and
>>> financially, people are looking forward to what's next for developer
>>> Larian Studios. However, according to studio founder Swen Vincke, the
>>> future doesn't lie with the Baldur's Gate franchise or Dungeons &
>>> Dragons as a whole.
>>
>> That sounds like a very stupid decision.
>
> It sounds like the whole studio got burned out making BG III.  Maybe the
> payoff wasn't worth the effort.  My friend gave it a very negative
> review on Steam.  Also they are still competing with Elden Ring which on
> the other hand is definitely a top seller.

Well, from what I have seen it definitely is a bestselling game right
now, to the point of making up for Hasbro's shortfall in their toy
business (it earned 700 million dollars, outselling even Hogwarts
Legacy, which is why they are trying to get more into gaming right now)

>
> Just think how much over the top BG IV will have to be, they would have
> to spend a million man hours each throwing themselves into the game
> development.  I think that's the real issue that it is slog work.  How
> would you like to be a slave lifting giant blocks to build a pyramid
> funereal resting place for some self-obsessed pharaoh?  The top games
> cost 100s of millions of dollars to make.  Maybe by this point in time
> there is a game that costed over a billion to develop.
>
> It sounds like a very sad decision but I wouldn't call it stupid.  I'm
> playing Divinity II on and off, and it is a work of art.  I appreciate
> Larian, but I've always thought Baldur's Gate was more for the unwashed
> masses.  Both the Shannara books and Lord of the Rings start with an
> ignoble hero forced to pick up and go on the march.  Can you even play
> the game and not suspect that Sauron is behind it all?  What drew me
> back to the game several times was the image of a ring in an early chest
> in the fortress-city of Candlekeep.
> --
> Heya it's me, Imoen.