Baldur's Gate III has been, by all definitions, a massive critical and sales hit for its developer and publisher Larian Studios. Most game developers would quickly try to create DLC packs, or expansions, or even a sequel.
However, as it has shown in the past, Larian is not like most game developers. IGN reports that during a panel at the Game Developers Conference today, Larian founder Swen Vincke confirmed that the team will not be making any expansions to Baldur's Gate III, nor will it work on a fourth game in the Dungeons and Dragons-themed fantasy RPG series.
The story adds that according to Vincke's remarks, Larian is moving away from making any more D&D games, and will be creating a new and original title.
In another IGN story, Vincke confirmed that Larian had actually started work on a Baldur's Gate III expansion, and has even started thinking about Baldur's Gate 4. However, he said that during the development of the expansion, it was clear that the dev team was not enthused about the work:
You could see the team was doing it because everyone felt like we had to do it, but it wasn’t really coming from the heart, and we’re very much a studio from the heart. It’s what gotten us into misery and it’s also been the reasons for our success.
The decision to cancel the expansion and move on to other projects was made after the Christmas holidays, and Vincke indicated the team was "elated" with that move.
To be fair, Larian has been very good in releasing free patches for Baldur's Gate III that have included a fair amount of new content, including an all-new epilogue to the game, and even improvements for kissing of in-game characters. The developer still has plans to offer cross-platform mod support for the game before the free patches end.
While Larian won't be making a sequel to Baldur's Gate III, the fact that the game has done so well may cause D&D's owners at Wizards of the Coast to seek out another developer that could create a fourth game in the franchise.
It's been done before. The first two Baldur's Gate PC games, along with expansions for both games, were developed by BioWare, and two spin-off action-RPGs in the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series were developed by Snowblind Studios and Black Isle Studios. Beamdog later made enhanced editions of the first two Baldur's Gate games and also released an all-new expansion for the first game.
Of course, the speculation will now begin on what Larian will do next. Vincke stated today it will not be a sequel to one of its original titles, Divinity: Original Sin 2. He also said that its next game will be "different than what you think it is" It's likely going to be at least a few years before Larian even announces anything, but it could be one of the most anticipated new game reveals ever when it happens.
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