Baldur's Gate 3 News
Baldur’s Gate 3 studio will likely bring their next game to early access again, but admit it’s not for every dev
It’s odd to think back on a time before Baldur’s Gate 3 - and even stranger to think that the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons RPG was actually kicking around for a long while before its 1.0 release blew up awards shows, social media feeds and fan-fiction hubs last summer. Putting the game out into early access at the end of 2020 - multiple years before it was ready for a full release - worked out very well for Larian though, so it’s maybe no surprise that they plan to do exactly the same with whatever comes next.
'No interplanetary boundaries can contain her rage': Baldur's Gate 3 lover and reigning wrestling champ Athena defends her title in the Ring of Honor as Karlach made flesh
If you told me a year ago that a character from a Baldur's Gate game would have an officially-sanctioned crossover with a major wrestling event, I'd have given you the blankest of stares. But, here we are—Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3, everyone's favourite mammoth tiefling lady, has made an appearance in the Ring of Honour...
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Whatever Baldur's Gate 3 dev Larian ends up doing next, it will probably be in early access too
Baldur's Gate 3 dev Larian definitely isn't making a sequel, but whatever its next game is, it will definitely go down the early access route.
Last month, many Baldur's Gate 3 fans across the world likely shed a tear when Larian CEO Swen Vincke said that the studio has no plans to make a sequel or even any expansions. Vincke shared that Larian will be moving on to something else, leaving the Baldur's Gate IP in the hands of its owners Wizards of the Coast to do something else with. Considering the fact that Baldur's Gate 3 is still regularly getting updates, and the full release isn't even a year old yet, it's unlikely we'll see what's next for Larian for a while yet, but in a recent interview with Game File (thanks, Kotaku), Larian's head of publishing Michael Douse did talk about release plans for the studio's follow-up.
Speaking of self-publishing and early access, Douse said "This is the only way to do it now." He went on to note how marketing has cratered, and that an early access release allows a developer to create "social resonance" while less and less games make a big impression on players. Important is that Douse doesn't say that this is something everyone can do, and if you don't know how to do it, don't just do so heedlessly, but it did help Larian work on Baldur's Gate's strong gameplay loop, as well as build a community. And for the next game, Douse said it "will also probably be in early access."
Larian publishing director on mass layoffs: 'None of these companies are at risk of going bankrupt. They were just at risk of pissing off the shareholders'
Speaking with Game File (users will encounter a paywall) at the Game Developers Choice Awards, Larian director of publishing Michael Douse gave his take on the current state of the industry, including some sharp criticism on the wave after wave of mass layoffs we've been seeing...
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