Last week the head of Larian Studios Swen Vincke revealed that the studio would not be making a sequel to wildly popular RPG Baldur’s Gate 3, and would also not create any DLC for the award-winning game. In response to rumors cropping up about the news, Vincke has now stated that the decision was made because it was the right one for Larian, and had nothing to do with D&D owner Wizards of the Coast.
“WOTC is not to blame for us taking a different direction,” Vincke stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “On the contrary, they really did their best and have been a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing. This is because it’s what’s best for Larian.”
In a thread discussing his decision last week, Vincke described it as “counter expectations,” but added: “I’ve never been more sure about a strategy shift. This is the right thing for Larian. I understand there will be disappointment because people fell in love with what we created but it was a story with a beginning, middle and an end and it doesn’t need more. The team has grown a lot during BG3 and I think you can be very excited for what that growth means for our next game.”
“As for BG3 and its characters – they now belong to WOTC and I think they understand how important they are for the community,” Vincke continued, addressing community concerns about Larian’s decision to step away from the franchise. “I trust that they’ll be treated with respect. It’s not easy for us to say goodbye to them but we also knew from the get go we’d have to one day. We learnt a lot from creating them and I’m very eager to see those lessons applied to new characters.”
Vincke added that Larian isn’t fully done with Baldur’s Gate 3 yet, with a number of updates still on the way including additional mod support, and new cinematics for some of the game’s endings.
Meanwhile, Wizards of the Coast is looking to internal studios for its upcoming Dungeons and Dragons-based video games, including one from Montreal-based Invoke Studios. Hasbro’s head of game studios added that the company has learned a lot from Baldur’s Gate 3’s success, and will take those lessons into its internal development process.