Highlights
- Larian Studios is currently working on two new games.
- Both of the upcoming projects are based on original IPs.
- Larian CEO Swen Vincke recently revealed he wants to tackle a smaller-scale game after spending six years on Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has started working on two new games. The company confirmed as much in a recent community update, which reflected on its latest project and teased what’s next for Larian Studios.
Although the developer’s newest RPG took no time to establish itself as a massive hit, few have predicted the sheer scale of its eventual success. On top of all the critical acclaim and immense sales, Baldur’s Gate 3 made history in mid-April by becoming the first-ever title to win all five of the world’s biggest game-of-the-year awards.
Every Award Baldur’s Gate 3 Has Won Since Launch
Since launching back in August 2023 Baldur’s Gate 3 has earned critical acclaim everywhere it’s looked, and that includes a number of big award shows.
Larian Teases Its Next Two Games Based on New IPs
A recent Steam post saw Larian reflect on this turn of events by stating the whole company is “absolutely humbled” by the amount of fan and critical recognition for its hit RPG. Aside from previewing the next Baldur’s Gate 3 update, the post also included a teaser of what’s next for the group. Specifically, Larian revealed that it is currently working on no fewer than two new projects, both of which will be based on original IPs. “After six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs,” a company representative wrote. Both projects are still in the early stages of development, with Larian promising to share more about them once there’s more to share.
Larian’s Upcoming Games May Be AA RPGs
Based on the company’s contemporary track record, it is plausible that both of its upcoming projects are role-playing games. Larian’s last non-RPG was Divinity: Dragon Commander, a PC-exclusive real-time strategy released in 2013. Not accounting for educational games, which it stopped making in 2011, seven out of Larian’s nine titles released since 1997 have been RPGs.
After six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs.
The company did not clarify whether its next two games are planned to be developed in parallel from start to finish, or if they have merely entered pre-production around the same time. The former scenario isn’t out of the question, as Larian CEO Swen Vincke himself recently said that he wants to tackle a smaller-scale game after Baldur’s Gate 3. Given how the studio still has around 470 full-time employees, its existing resources would certainly allow it to pursue two AA titles simultaneously.
Such titles also raise the possibility of Larian returning to Kickstarter, which partially funded its last pair of mid-budget projects, Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel. However, the company would ostensibly only return to crowdfunding as a promotional tool, as it’s currently not wanting for cash. The developer’s recent community update also saw it reiterate that it doesn’t intend to treat Baldur’s Gate 3 to a sequel or any kind of paid post-launch content. The game’s success did manage to revive the two-decades-dormant franchise, with Hasbro already confirming that Baldur’s Gate 4 is happening, albeit without Larian’s involvement.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a Dungeons and Dragons inspired RPG developed and published by Larian Studios. Featuring both a single player and cooperative element, players create their character by selecting a starting class, take on quests, level up, and engage in turn-based combat using the D&D 5th edition rule set.
- Franchise
- Baldur’s Gate
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
- Metascore
- 96
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players