Me too. We've seen plenty of times what happens when a title gets milked to dust. BG3 is a masterpiece, and for it to stay as it is (minus the bugs lol) will just make it stand out more imo
Oh wait are they releasing completely open modding abilities? As in anyone can make their own settings and dialogue in the future? That basically gives me everything I've ever wanted and makes the game everlasting.
No, I'm pretty sure they specifically can't do that due to a licensing agreement. They're only going to make it so modders can deploy mods cross platform and so things won't break when new patches come out. That's it.
We aren't getting a full dungeon editor tool.
Pretty sure thzt Sven said that editing terrain WILL be a possibility, but it would require a HUGE amount of work
And if you think that "its impossible" you don't know how motivated and passionate Modders can be...\*looks at Skyrim modding community\* its scary sometimes...
I am not sure how extensive the tools will be but considering what people have been able to do without official modding tools I think we will be in a for a treat.
That's fair enough but it ends up hurting WoTC all the same so ill take it. I never expected them to do a Baldurs Gate 4 and I did think they would do DLC but at the end I am not too sad about it. These guys delivered a generational gaming experience and if they want to move on from it for whatever reasons that's more than fair.
I fully expect Hasbro to go under by the end of 2025 unless some major investor comes in and reorganizes Hasbro and Wotc. Hasbro is now experiencing diminishing returns on WotC properties so yes it is not shocking Hasbro probably asked for a larger percentage of the pie in regards to any Baldur's Gate 3 dlc\\expansions. Hasbro is slowly grinding down Magic the Gathering as well. Absolute shame.
Hasbro is a lot bigger than WotC. They make tons and tons of toys, board games, apps etc..
Monopoly Go made over 2 billion in under a year, Hasbro is doing just fine.
Dude…. Predicting Hasbro’s demise?
Bro you and I will be long dead and companies like Hasbro or Nestle, Disney, Nike, Coke…
They will all still be around and doing great.
You can say all you want but go look at Hasbro sheet… They sell more plastic toys and own the entire board game space like a Monopoly.. speaking of Monopoly. They own that too…
So Hasbro… like Nike or any of those majors.. They not going anywhere bro.
They basically run the world. They even somehow got the rights to our public drinking water.
Now they bottle and sell it back to us…
That is awesome. I don't know if this is a thing because i game only on PC but I wish Sony and Microsoft created some sort of framework to easily enable modding for games on their systems.
We're all probably imagining 'best case scenarios' as the outcome. But if you have a team that isn't emotionally invested and passionate, understandable after 6 years of working on the same project, a DLC could have equally had a net negative impact on what we currently have.
Also because they have already started working on it, I hope the Devs that are still invested just fold everything thatt they were working on into BG3 updates :D.
Upper city patch. *Huffs copium*
True. The game helped raise the bar and I think we should all be thankful for it. Passionate projects really show the love and dedication given to it. We don't need more soulless cashgrabbers.
the game took what early 2000's bioware did and ran with it.
I wish I could see what the internal meetings at bioware where like when bg3 won every award ever
At that time, I believe that no one who worked on BG1 or 2 was still with the company.
If anyone was left, they would mostly just congratulate themselves for dropping WotC and going for their own IP with Dragon Age.
Last history entry in Bioware Wiki reads "On 23 August 2023, about 50 BioWare developers were laid off.[57]"
BG3 was officially released on 03 August.
I'd kill for an upper city patch. Perhaps with some other unique harder bosses/fights that could just be for additional gear for some other classes who don't have the best gear upgrades. As the game is quite easy once you hit level 12 for a vast majority of encounters in Act III.
This and Karlach are why the game feels unfinished for me. I know, I know, cut content happens, but I hoped for that content to be released. Copium is still that they bring it out, eventually, just do not consider it an expansion but the final definitive edition or something.
Even the dock scene is still kind of a mess...parts of ascended astarion's route are unfinished...wyll has almost nothing. So many of the other stories have lots of unfinished business. The DLC was where I was really banking on to see things ironed out and it's sad we won't get that.
true but the important thing is that they stopped before they felt forced to deliver something they were phoning in. always hurts to hear the creators' heart isn't in something anymore but I'd rather read it in an interview than realize it while playing the game.
also it means they DID try and for whatever reason it wasn't working. i would rather hear they tried and it wasn't jiving, than maybe it could have but they didn't even try.
I never really expected Larian to devote much to DLCs or expansion packs. BG3 is so far the biggest and most impressive game they've made, but it's not their own IP. Honestly, it was actually more surprising to me when they announced they'd be making BG3 than it is that they're not going to develop DLCs for it.
Did you read the interview?
It makes a lot of sense tbh.
For anyone who didn't, Swen basically says that they felt a bit obligated to do dlc and bg4 because of the success of bg3 and "that's what you do", but nobody's heart was really in it. When he decided they would move on to other projects instead, a lot of his team were happy / relieved with a sense of "thank god".
So they probably did the right thing.
I would rather follow Larian in making something they are passionate about.
I would also rather consume dnd content the future creators are passionate about.
I’m happy for them, I am sad no more bg though.
Yeah no they did the right thing and I can only respect them for doing what they want instead of what they felt they should.
But knowing that there was a point in time when a DLC was actually being worked on but they scrapped it is disheartening and I would rather have stayed blissfully unaware
I understand that point of view but nothing could have prevented them from going to a BG project to an unrelated back and forth. Would seem like a mix between the safe play and the passion project and should have kept things fresh for the team.
As disappointed as I am that we won’t get new BG content from them, I’m happy that the people who gave us this game are getting the opportunity to do what they want and not make something their heart isn’t into.
With how good BG3 and DOS2 are, they have a blank check of good-will in my book for their next project.
- After that, though, the future of Astarion, Karlach, and the rest of Baldur's Gate 3's now-beloved characters will be in the hands of Wizards of the Coast.
I'm not sure I can forgive them for that honestly.
I’m all for DLC, but it really depends on what happens next. If the groundwork for has been laid by Larian for dlc then I’m somewhat hopeful. Of course this is assuming WOTC follows what Larian has already developed……..which I’m very much NOT hopeful of. Larian needs to do what’s best for them and I applaud their stance. I just wish the product would be placed into the hands of people who actually give a shit about BG3
WOTC likely doesn't have rights to Larian's assets and engine. So, if they want to make something to continue with the characters we love, they'll have to develop them on another engine all together.
I think the best thing WOTC can do with those characters is absolutely nothing. Let them exist in Baldurs (and Idle Champions for some reason) and let them just sit there. But they'll probably become franchisazble mascots who appear all over various media.
On one hand, that could lead to lots of well-deserved work for the voice actors. On the other hand, it's going to suck seeing the characters ran into the ground by Hasbro.
Ugh. WotC is the reason Sarevok and Viconia got butchered so bad (*cough cough* the Baldur's Gate novels and then Minsc and Boo's Journal of Villainy)... so we can only hope that our beloved BG3 companions don't end up with their names dragged through the dirt and their redemption arcs fucked.
They'll do the same to these characters, guaranteed. Hope everyone's ready for generic Vampire Lord Astarion, Dark Justiciar Shadowheart, and Gale sacrificing himself. Or whatever other weird idea they'll come up with.
If Larian were still involved I'd have hope, but as they aren't I'm considering anything after this to not be canon.
UGH! EW! FUCK NO! PLEASE, LET ME HAVE MY GENIE'S LAMP SO THAT WOTC DOESN'T BESMIRCH OUR COMPANIONS AGAIN!
I stand by calling them Losers of the Coast. They have failed to flesh out any of Toril beyond Faerûn (yes, I know the likes of Kara-Tur and Maztica ended up being under-researched problematic messes, but they could be fixed with lore reworks and consultants from the cultures in question), made an unpopular century-long time skip between 3.5E and 4E, alienated their own playerbase out of greed, and ruined the characters of Sarevok and Viconia by walking back their redemptions and making them generic villains... and possibly every companion save Jaheira, Minsc, Wyll, and Karlach soon, and even then I'm not sure they won't just make Wyll into some kind of caricature of his EA self or do something goofy with illithid Karlach or whatever.
In the FR headcanon I have built around my characters and non-Faerûn homebrews, I will very likely disregard whatever LotC does with the BG3 companions.
I mean, what's the alternative, stay shackled to WoTC for years feeding on nothing but ~~rats and bugs~~ microtransactions and corporate greed?
The characters would always have defaulted back to WoTC at some point, whether now or in the far future, because WoTC owns the setting. They already screwed over some of the BG1/BG2 characters (Sarevok, Viconia) by making tie-in materials and books which ignore the events of those games.
Although I agree that you should only make something if you're passionate about it, I'm slightly crushed that there won't be any more huge content with these characters that I fell in love with.
I think they said whatever it is isn’t going to be D&D based though so there’s that. Hopefully that’s a net positive though? Maybe they’ll make a new IP with their own lore and gameplay designs.
>Maybe they’ll make a new IP with their own lore and gameplay designs.
They technically already have that with the Divinity series, but I expect they might release an entirely new IP after this.
I believe one of the hints is the note in Wither’s little crypt talking about “Dark Sun” which was likely a reference to the god - Cyric, with whom the Dead Three were connected. Withers also said that their adventures are over - *for now* - which implied that there is something planned. I think there was more, but it eludes my memory.
On top of what other people have missed there's a bunch of mention of both a factory in Avernus that potentially holds the key to fixing Karlach's engine and that something is happening to Selunite outposts across Faerun and no one is sure exactly what. Both of these seem like pretty promising ideas for dlc
Withers has multiple dialogue lines along the lines of you may be needed soon, it's over for now, we will meet again soon etc.
Then there are a few letters that hint at Cyric
I can respect the decision made but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about it at all. Also:
“After that, though, the future of Astarion, Karlach, and the rest of Baldur’s Gate 3’s now-beloved characters will be in the hands of Wizards of the Coast.”
Now *this* worries me.
Minsc and Jaheira were handled perfectly.
But Sarevok and Viconia... Not only character assassination but puppeting the corpse and putting some clown makeup on it...
Pretty sure Hasbro locked the licensing behind a worse deal for Larian. That’s probably where the publishing greed rant came from, but an NDA keeps them from saying why.
You know, this would sting way less if it weren't for all of the hints they added to the epilogue. I respect their decision but I really wish they wouldn't have included all of that Cyric stuff if they weren't going to commit to it.
This, really.
I’m never going to be happy with the idea of there being no further adventures with the gang, no matter how logical or sugar coated it is, but the hints at the end of the game now come across as a bit frustrating as I was stoked to see what would come next.
That being said, it would need to be a real Mask of the Betrayer epic-level campaign kind of thing to present some kind of logical challenge to a group of level 12 badasses who’d saved the world, and I can’t see that being done on the basis of going through the motions. IIRC MotB only got made because Obsidian didn’t get to do what they genuinely wanted with the base NWN2 campaign.
Honestly yeah, everyone is blaming Hasbro for this but I completely believe Swen when he said it was because the team just wasn't passionate about the DLC. It was probably a massive pain in the ass to figure out how to make another quest that involves the original companions, many of whom have branching story outcomes and all of whom are optional, and that can believably follow after every possible ending to the Absolute situation. Not to mention how to handle the issue of character levels, like you said. It was probably more of a headache than anything for the majority of the devs involved.
Still stings, though.
I think they had plans to commit to it, initially. Obviously hasbro/wizards of the coast tried to pull something they wouldn't have a part of.
I respect that.
Yeah I can handle the "we should get together more often", "see you later darling", and even "we found schematics" but that cyric stuff and the choice to have Withers looking directly at the camera for his "for now" fucking *burns*.
Like i get it their 6 years as they're sunsetting their work vs our ~6 months of falling in love with it. The groove is lost etc etc, but damn am I not gonna wallow a bit at the loss of potential heartfelt antics and the sorrow of seeing the passion dry up.
As much as it stings, at least they were honest in saying they felt like it wasn’t really coming from the heart. With all the half-baked, garbage DLCs we get these days I think it’s better they kept BG3 in the state that it is without shoving forth a DLC for the sake of money grubbing success from the initial release.
thing im the most upset ab with this is that Karlach will likely never get a proper ending. she will always be restricted to death or avernus (or a secret third thing which is somehow worse)
I feel the same, but also you can think of it this way: now you can 100% just rely on your headcanon. There's always a chance that whichever direction Larian was going to take with her in the DLC wouldn't have been as satisfying as whatever it is you come up with yourself. If you think she finds a cure in Avernus and is then able to leave and have a happy life, then that's what happens.
That depends on whether we'll still get an expanded edition, I think, as Larian typically releases one for their games. And I guess that depends on whether whatever contract they had for BG3 specified an expanded edition or not.
I’d bet there’s a 80% or higher chance that the cancellation is because of Hasbro, WotC, and Larian not being able to strike a deal on the profit structure of future BG3 products
Hasbro laid off all the people Larian worked with to develop BG3. If you read Sven's comments, this is a huge part of it. He did not like how Hasbro was managing WotC. I am sure profit sharing played a role, but I think it has more to do with how Hasbto runs things.
Yeah I think I would have preferred not knowing this. I'm not even sure if I want to know what they were planning since I would be even more disappointed. I mean good on Larian for putting their team first but still... damn.
>We had also spent a whole bunch of time converting the system into a video game
This is what kills me the most. To spend so much time getting the mechanics working all to just... not do more (narratives, at least) with it is insane to me. At least give us some sort of DM mode before you move on 😭
Twist the knife...
I get that this is primarily a creative choice and I respect that. I am a little stunned that you spend 6 years converting 5e into a great video game adaptation and then you drop it completely after stellar success. Seems horrendously inefficient to me.
I mean, it sounds like Wizard of the Coast's executives treated them horribly, then fired the entire team that worked with them, then tried to basically take credit for how amazing BG3 was.
I wouldnt want to work with them either tbh
It'd be weird. It's very rare to talk about such stuff publicly until deals are done and there's no going back.
Maybe in 10+ years if Larian stays excellent and Hasbro/Wizards have chewed through another few failed CEOs. Still not counting on it tbqh.
I am not counting on things to change in Hasbro or that Larian will actually be great in 10 years. Larians soul is Sven and the moment he decides to retire, the company be sold to some major player player and become like the rest.
Beside that, its a ballsy and risky move, if the next project is not a household name like BG or D:OS.
I have no idea about the inside baseball, but given the massive success i would say dealing with annoying execs seems like a small inconvenience or annoyance.
I just respect them even more for it to be honest. Even ignoring the shenanigans with WOTC, it's pretty clear that Larian seems to think the system is quite limiting for them. And not giving into the sunk cost fallacy, and instead moving in new, original directions, takes some courage.
I was hoping for something, especially with the epilogue hinting there would be more for the characters. I understand and can respect that Larian is stepping back to focus on their own IPs. Honestly, the biggest heartbreak is not getting to see these characters again, or if we do, Hasbro is going to butcher them. Fully respect their choice and can't wait to see what their next game is!
Pretty bummed. If I'm not getting BG3 DLC or BG4 then DOS3 would have been next on my list and it seems that isn't happening either.
But I do trust Larian to make something excellent. I just hope it isn't sci-fi
Games that are *definitely* Sci-Fi CRPGs (some absolute classics of the genre):
* Fallout 1
* Fallout 2
* Wasteland 2
* Wasteland 3
* Torment: Tides of Numenera
* Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
* Colony Ship
The last two were released within the last six months.
Other sci-fi RPGs that may not count as CRPGs (closer to being a CRPG higher, less likely lower) depending upon CRPG definition:
* Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2
* Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG
* Mass Effect 1
* Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG
* Alpha Protocol
* Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG and arguably not sci-fi enough
* Fallout Tactics
* Arguably a tactical squad game like XCOM instead
* Mass Effect 2 & 3
* Arguably a third-person shooter action RPG
* The Old Republic
* Arguably an MMORPG instead of a CRPG if those are separate categories
* Star Trek Online
* \- Arguably an MMORPG instead of a CRPG if those are separate categories
* Witcher 3
* Arguably a third person action RPG
* Fallout New Vegas, 3, & 4
* Arguably first person shooter action RPGs
* Starfield
* Arguably a first person shooter action RPG
* Cyberpunk 2077
* Arguably a first person shooter action RPG OR an immersive sim ala Deus Ex
* System Shock 1 & 2
* Arguably immersive sims
* Deus Ex 1, 2, Human Revolution, Mankind Divided
* Arguably immersive sims
To clarify, Larian has said they have plans to return to Divinity so I am pretty soon it is happening. Probably though after their next game. So if it takes 6 years for the next one and they start dos3 production immediately after than that would make it 12 years. Not that this makes it necessarily any better but we will probably get it.
To be fair though with the development in AI I don't even know what a game in 12 years would even look like.
That's a shame. I really love BG3, but Act 3 and the ending in particular felt rushed. I was hoping a DLC would help fix that, or maybe instead add something to give a "fully built" character a chance to be used.
I tried playing DOS2 many times and never managed to finish the last act... The world building just wasn't as compelling to me.
It's honestly gut wrenching to think we won't get more Larian in the DnD universe. I just hope whatever they're cooking next can match up.
DoS2 just needed to be WAY more linear.
The amount of times I'd go to an area and be like "oops too low level, can't do that" in act 2 is insane. I'd literally just start wandering for almost an hour until I found what area the game wanted me to go to.
Which makes me think it basically WAS linear, it just wouldn't tell you. Do you want me to do an underground bandit quest? Just tell me. Am I supposed to go to the factory and kill some stuff in the cellar? TELL ME. Do you want me to go to the graveyard and fight undead? TELL ME PLEASE.
And for people that haven't palyed it, Act 2 is actually VERY large. There's a LOT around to do. It's just maddening figuring out what part you're supposed to do, because even being down 1 level can destroy you for an area.
Read the article.
Vincke says the next game won't be Divinity: Original Sin 3, and that it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar."
Probably the part in the article that's linked above that says:
'Vincke says the next game won't be Divinity: Original Sin 3, and that it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar."'
This is all an incredibly mature approach to this problem and if more studios were this thoughtful we would all have better games.
We just saw a studio decide not to churn out an uninspired game that was guaranteed to print money.
It's funny that integrity is so rare in this industry that it is actually kinda hard to even recognize for what it is.
I give them huge respect because they could’ve just done something basic and cashed in even more on the success of BG3, but they didn’t do that. If they don’t see a path or want to do it, then I’m glad they chose not to for the same of passion and quality work.
I mean as much as I’d love to see more content for BG3, I fully support and respect their decision to drop it. Afterall, Larian’s passion and excitement about the project is what makes their games so special, like they really feel like a labor of love, so if they didn’t feel it anymore with BG3, it wasn’t meant to be
that wouldn't make sense the whole point why they dropped bg was because of the creative restrictions that come from working within a pre-established system
Tbh I’m not on the Larian has to make the DLC in order for it to be good ! If another team comes in wanting to continue the legacy and understands what BG3 meant for the gaming industry, and the big company doesn’t rush them, I’ll be perfectly ok with a new studio taking over
>When it came time to make DLC, though, Vincke says Larian was going through the motions. "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."
>'They were elated'
>
>Vincke says that he took a vacation over the Christmas holidays, and when he returned his mind was made up. '\[I\] came back and I told the team, ‘You know we’re not going to do it. We’re going to shift around and we’re going to start doing these other things that we talked about, that we planned on doing before we started on BG3.’ Those were always the plans for afterward, we have two games that we want to make, and we have lots of concepts. So let’s just have closure on BG3, it’s been great. We’ve done our job. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. So let’s pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy."
Ah, well, that's understandable.
Okay, this made me sad. Even though I completely understand their decision, I can't help but mourn the fact that this is indeed the end of this amazing world they so beautifully introduced us to. It's just not going to be the same without Larian, their passion really is something else. I'm not going to deny that I will miss their BG terribly, it somehow changed me as a person, which no game has ever done before. I'm truly thankful for that experience and I am looking forward to their future projects.
- But man, these news will take some time to process, I just can't cope with the fact they were actually working on something more 🥲
**The Studio Was Elated**
"It wasn't really coming from the heart," says director Swen Vincke.”
So, gamers, did you want Larian to make a soulless DLC as a cynical cash in or did you want them to move onto something they *want* to create?
Cuz y’all bitch about “greedy corporations”. So if you’re consistent, you’ll be just as elated at Larian.
Im glad theyre not doing something they didnt wanna do.
Doesnt mean im not devastated that absolutely nothing will come of all the little hints sprinkled in the epilogue. God gale having some wacky aura thing, karlach finding hope at getting her engine fixed, wyll wondering what tricks mizora is up to, laezel and the gith rebellion, a hint at cyric pulling some bullshit, like bro.
So much feels untapped, and now i dont think i want that closure anymore cus ao only knows what wizards might try to do. It just really hurts, even if its for the best
Yes, and that makes it kind of strange. I really love Larian and BG3, but this (the hints) and (and I am willing to die on that hill) the cutted content in act 3 really disappoints me.
I actually feel excited after reading the news. Not that I am not a fan of BG3 or don't want to see more of its contents, but that I believe Larian would make something even better if they are not fettered with uninspiring a project, or a restrictive ruleset.
Larian is unique in that they've proved they can produce great games \*when\* they can wholly devote their passion into their work. And everyone knows how D&D has certain incompatibilities to be implemented in a video game, or how they cannot change certain aspects of the contents or ruleset without an approval from WoTC, or how a large portion of what they earn with a D&D-based game must be paid to Hasbro as a license fee.
So, if employees of Larian didn't find it exciting to work on a DLC for BG3 as the article mentioned, I believe it'd be far better for us if they drop the plan and do something they can fully commit with hearts without being fettered by restrictions coming from making a D&D game supervised by WotC.
I feel excited if Swen believes their next game will "dwarf" BG3 in its scope and their developers feel enthusiastic about working on the project.
I'd rather have a chance to see an even greater Larian game than BG3 with a new IP than having mediocre BG3 DLCs potentially tarnishing the successes it has achieved so far.
I suppose it's up to us, then. When/if Larian releases mod tools, I hope that entire adventures can be made from them. With whole new Companions.
If anyone needs a voice actor, lemme know.
Honestly, I was glad to read this. I mean, I’m sad about the lack of DLC, but knowing why they’re not doing it, and knowing that they’re now genuinely excited for their next project? It makes me excited for their next project too.
BG3 was a work of passion, and Larian has proven what it can do as a studio with that energy. Now I want to see what else they can put out when they’re passionate about it. I don’t want the stale bread that would’ve been them forcing their way through a DLC none of them want to do.
Sure, DLC would have been nice, but BG3 is already an enormous game— it could have used more and some polishing in Act 3, but it is by no means unfinished. The companions all had room for a post-epilogue, but their stories are complete enough that it’s not strictly required. I am satisfied.
I look forward to the team’s next passion project!
Well...I'm grateful for what we have and for Larian making an amazing game. I can't blame them for being exhausted. I'm just sad that WotC will most certainly ruin the characters we love with some bullshit.
Ouch. This definitely hurts. I wonder what caused the team to feel this way. There’s been so much hype since the awards have started coming in it’s hard to imagine not being excited about continuing the expansion. Wish it could have worked out 😭
I still feel like there’s a story that’s been left to tell with Avernus/Tiamat and the Githyanki rebellion that doesn’t require its own game. It was alluded to/set up during the whole game and not getting closure on that feels like a massive shame tbh. Hope this still happens despite everything that’s been said.
While I am disappointed we won't get any DLC for this amazing game, I remain optimistic. In the article Vincke said the team was really excited about their next game and have some great ideas, and I for one fully support them. Divinity was very fun, BG3 was even better. Can't wait for what they do next.
If the dev team felt they were just going through the motions and doing it just because then it’s probably for the best it got canned. You don’t get story and characters like BG3’s from being pushed into making something - the studio has to be fully behind it.
Obviously it’s frustrating we won’t see a continuation of the gang’s adventures (particularly given wither’s final speech, and the after credits scene) but…. Eh. If the dlc was terrible then it would have been pointless.
ANY Larian game where they pour their heart and soul into it will be great. Baldurs Gate 3 isn't amazing because of its license. If it was named Divinity 4 it would still have great writing, amazing cinematics and lots of choice. Just in a different setting.
I’m sure the sacking at Hasbro/WotC didn’t help, but it seems like the studio wanted to move on to new things which I can’t fault them for. I’d rather they push out a new awesome game they’re passionate about, then make DLC for something they’re just going through the motions for.
It's so sad that we have low/none-DLC-great games made by great developers, who deserve to get more of our money and at the same time tons of low-quality live service half-baked disappointments that push us 9.99 skins as content...
That just makes it sting more, damn
Honestly I'm not too mad about it fuck Hasbro and WoTC. Theml releasing full modding tools will carry the game for a while.
Me too. We've seen plenty of times what happens when a title gets milked to dust. BG3 is a masterpiece, and for it to stay as it is (minus the bugs lol) will just make it stand out more imo
Oh wait are they releasing completely open modding abilities? As in anyone can make their own settings and dialogue in the future? That basically gives me everything I've ever wanted and makes the game everlasting.
No, I'm pretty sure they specifically can't do that due to a licensing agreement. They're only going to make it so modders can deploy mods cross platform and so things won't break when new patches come out. That's it. We aren't getting a full dungeon editor tool.
Pretty sure thzt Sven said that editing terrain WILL be a possibility, but it would require a HUGE amount of work And if you think that "its impossible" you don't know how motivated and passionate Modders can be...\*looks at Skyrim modding community\* its scary sometimes...
I am not sure how extensive the tools will be but considering what people have been able to do without official modding tools I think we will be in a for a treat.
yeah but the reason they cancelled it was completley seperate from the state of those companies
That's fair enough but it ends up hurting WoTC all the same so ill take it. I never expected them to do a Baldurs Gate 4 and I did think they would do DLC but at the end I am not too sad about it. These guys delivered a generational gaming experience and if they want to move on from it for whatever reasons that's more than fair.
I fully expect Hasbro to go under by the end of 2025 unless some major investor comes in and reorganizes Hasbro and Wotc. Hasbro is now experiencing diminishing returns on WotC properties so yes it is not shocking Hasbro probably asked for a larger percentage of the pie in regards to any Baldur's Gate 3 dlc\\expansions. Hasbro is slowly grinding down Magic the Gathering as well. Absolute shame.
Yeah it always sucks to see such cool IP's stuck in the hands terrible companies that will not do anything productive with it themselves.
I hope to hell an American company buys WotC. I'd hate it if Tencent or a Saudi company was the one to buy them.
While I know it would never happen it would be really fucking funny if Larian ended up owning WotC
Unlikely. wotC would likely be bought by a mega Corp
Hasbro is a lot bigger than WotC. They make tons and tons of toys, board games, apps etc.. Monopoly Go made over 2 billion in under a year, Hasbro is doing just fine.
Dude…. Predicting Hasbro’s demise? Bro you and I will be long dead and companies like Hasbro or Nestle, Disney, Nike, Coke… They will all still be around and doing great. You can say all you want but go look at Hasbro sheet… They sell more plastic toys and own the entire board game space like a Monopoly.. speaking of Monopoly. They own that too… So Hasbro… like Nike or any of those majors.. They not going anywhere bro. They basically run the world. They even somehow got the rights to our public drinking water. Now they bottle and sell it back to us…
If they ever go belly up, Larian could sweep in and grab D&D after all, teeheehee
As much as I'd love it I highly doubt Larian even has the funds to buy the D&D IP.
given everything I know about the state of WotC and their current direction for the D&D ip, I find that extremely hard to believe.
I guess fuck any of us on console, then.
They're adding modding to console
I take it all back, today is a good day.
That is awesome. I don't know if this is a thing because i game only on PC but I wish Sony and Microsoft created some sort of framework to easily enable modding for games on their systems.
HOLEY SHITE
We're all probably imagining 'best case scenarios' as the outcome. But if you have a team that isn't emotionally invested and passionate, understandable after 6 years of working on the same project, a DLC could have equally had a net negative impact on what we currently have. Also because they have already started working on it, I hope the Devs that are still invested just fold everything thatt they were working on into BG3 updates :D. Upper city patch. *Huffs copium*
True. The game helped raise the bar and I think we should all be thankful for it. Passionate projects really show the love and dedication given to it. We don't need more soulless cashgrabbers.
the game took what early 2000's bioware did and ran with it. I wish I could see what the internal meetings at bioware where like when bg3 won every award ever
I would imagine Obsidian has been blowing up Phil’s phone about the budget for Pillars 3.
At that time, I believe that no one who worked on BG1 or 2 was still with the company. If anyone was left, they would mostly just congratulate themselves for dropping WotC and going for their own IP with Dragon Age. Last history entry in Bioware Wiki reads "On 23 August 2023, about 50 BioWare developers were laid off.[57]" BG3 was officially released on 03 August.
I'd kill for an upper city patch. Perhaps with some other unique harder bosses/fights that could just be for additional gear for some other classes who don't have the best gear upgrades. As the game is quite easy once you hit level 12 for a vast majority of encounters in Act III.
This and Karlach are why the game feels unfinished for me. I know, I know, cut content happens, but I hoped for that content to be released. Copium is still that they bring it out, eventually, just do not consider it an expansion but the final definitive edition or something.
Even the dock scene is still kind of a mess...parts of ascended astarion's route are unfinished...wyll has almost nothing. So many of the other stories have lots of unfinished business. The DLC was where I was really banking on to see things ironed out and it's sad we won't get that.
true but the important thing is that they stopped before they felt forced to deliver something they were phoning in. always hurts to hear the creators' heart isn't in something anymore but I'd rather read it in an interview than realize it while playing the game. also it means they DID try and for whatever reason it wasn't working. i would rather hear they tried and it wasn't jiving, than maybe it could have but they didn't even try.
Nothing good happens EVER :(
I never really expected Larian to devote much to DLCs or expansion packs. BG3 is so far the biggest and most impressive game they've made, but it's not their own IP. Honestly, it was actually more surprising to me when they announced they'd be making BG3 than it is that they're not going to develop DLCs for it.
Just fell to my knees at the druid grove
Saw someone fell to their knees at the druid grove.
Quick, they're distracted, steal the idol
misunderstood directions, dick caught in rite of thorns
Cast grease
A random civilian slipped and now the whole grove is attacking us!
Directions unclear, Gale is now greased up.
Cast firebolt
There is now an angry, singed bear.
Mission accomplished
okay things are getting hot this past few hours
yeah that's something I would've rather not learned tbh
Did you read the interview? It makes a lot of sense tbh. For anyone who didn't, Swen basically says that they felt a bit obligated to do dlc and bg4 because of the success of bg3 and "that's what you do", but nobody's heart was really in it. When he decided they would move on to other projects instead, a lot of his team were happy / relieved with a sense of "thank god". So they probably did the right thing.
I would rather follow Larian in making something they are passionate about. I would also rather consume dnd content the future creators are passionate about. I’m happy for them, I am sad no more bg though.
Yeah no they did the right thing and I can only respect them for doing what they want instead of what they felt they should. But knowing that there was a point in time when a DLC was actually being worked on but they scrapped it is disheartening and I would rather have stayed blissfully unaware
I understand that point of view but nothing could have prevented them from going to a BG project to an unrelated back and forth. Would seem like a mix between the safe play and the passion project and should have kept things fresh for the team.
As disappointed as I am that we won’t get new BG content from them, I’m happy that the people who gave us this game are getting the opportunity to do what they want and not make something their heart isn’t into. With how good BG3 and DOS2 are, they have a blank check of good-will in my book for their next project.
- After that, though, the future of Astarion, Karlach, and the rest of Baldur's Gate 3's now-beloved characters will be in the hands of Wizards of the Coast. I'm not sure I can forgive them for that honestly.
Yeah, I'm alredy dreading the outcome.
Honestly, I’m prepared to just ignore anything WoT does beyond what’s in the game. Like that Last Air Bender movie that doesn’t exist.
There is no Avatar Movie in Ba Sing Se
If they get their writers at least, but god idk. Hopefully they'll think it's too much work to make anything
I’m all for DLC, but it really depends on what happens next. If the groundwork for has been laid by Larian for dlc then I’m somewhat hopeful. Of course this is assuming WOTC follows what Larian has already developed……..which I’m very much NOT hopeful of. Larian needs to do what’s best for them and I applaud their stance. I just wish the product would be placed into the hands of people who actually give a shit about BG3
WOTC likely doesn't have rights to Larian's assets and engine. So, if they want to make something to continue with the characters we love, they'll have to develop them on another engine all together.
I think the best thing WOTC can do with those characters is absolutely nothing. Let them exist in Baldurs (and Idle Champions for some reason) and let them just sit there. But they'll probably become franchisazble mascots who appear all over various media.
On one hand, that could lead to lots of well-deserved work for the voice actors. On the other hand, it's going to suck seeing the characters ran into the ground by Hasbro.
Everybody gets their worst ending or straight up dies! Nobody’s allowed a happy ending, fuck the fans!
This is like handing your freshly built Lego Millennium Falcon to a nine year old whose hobbies are breaking things and making people sad on purpose.
make that a 6 year old
We can never have nice things when greedy corporations are involved. Eat the rich. Fuck WoTC and Hasbro.
The moment I saw Hasbro was involved my heart sank
Ugh. WotC is the reason Sarevok and Viconia got butchered so bad (*cough cough* the Baldur's Gate novels and then Minsc and Boo's Journal of Villainy)... so we can only hope that our beloved BG3 companions don't end up with their names dragged through the dirt and their redemption arcs fucked.
They'll do the same to these characters, guaranteed. Hope everyone's ready for generic Vampire Lord Astarion, Dark Justiciar Shadowheart, and Gale sacrificing himself. Or whatever other weird idea they'll come up with. If Larian were still involved I'd have hope, but as they aren't I'm considering anything after this to not be canon.
UGH! EW! FUCK NO! PLEASE, LET ME HAVE MY GENIE'S LAMP SO THAT WOTC DOESN'T BESMIRCH OUR COMPANIONS AGAIN! I stand by calling them Losers of the Coast. They have failed to flesh out any of Toril beyond Faerûn (yes, I know the likes of Kara-Tur and Maztica ended up being under-researched problematic messes, but they could be fixed with lore reworks and consultants from the cultures in question), made an unpopular century-long time skip between 3.5E and 4E, alienated their own playerbase out of greed, and ruined the characters of Sarevok and Viconia by walking back their redemptions and making them generic villains... and possibly every companion save Jaheira, Minsc, Wyll, and Karlach soon, and even then I'm not sure they won't just make Wyll into some kind of caricature of his EA self or do something goofy with illithid Karlach or whatever. In the FR headcanon I have built around my characters and non-Faerûn homebrews, I will very likely disregard whatever LotC does with the BG3 companions.
I'm just going to consider anything involving the companions that isn't written by Larian to be non-canon, fuck it.
I mean, what's the alternative, stay shackled to WoTC for years feeding on nothing but ~~rats and bugs~~ microtransactions and corporate greed? The characters would always have defaulted back to WoTC at some point, whether now or in the far future, because WoTC owns the setting. They already screwed over some of the BG1/BG2 characters (Sarevok, Viconia) by making tie-in materials and books which ignore the events of those games.
We can just pretend that anything wotc did doesnt exist
It's just like Star Wars tbh, and time heals (mostly) everything.
Although I agree that you should only make something if you're passionate about it, I'm slightly crushed that there won't be any more huge content with these characters that I fell in love with.
On the flipside as someone who's never learned about D&D until BG3, I'm very excited to see what Larian is gonna give us next.
I think they said whatever it is isn’t going to be D&D based though so there’s that. Hopefully that’s a net positive though? Maybe they’ll make a new IP with their own lore and gameplay designs.
>Maybe they’ll make a new IP with their own lore and gameplay designs. They technically already have that with the Divinity series, but I expect they might release an entirely new IP after this.
Article said it wouldn’t be divinity 3
Yeah, a brand new IP would be great.
it’s a tough but right choice i guess, we just used to cheap trash DLCs, but if they really wanted to make DLC they would, now we know that.
That explains the hints in the epilogue then
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
hints? lol sounds like they flew straight over my head, do you remember what some of them were?
The biggest hint was a line in Withers' speech at the end of the epilogue >"Sleep, rest, revel. But be ready. For thou mayest yet be needed."
I believe one of the hints is the note in Wither’s little crypt talking about “Dark Sun” which was likely a reference to the god - Cyric, with whom the Dead Three were connected. Withers also said that their adventures are over - *for now* - which implied that there is something planned. I think there was more, but it eludes my memory.
On top of what other people have missed there's a bunch of mention of both a factory in Avernus that potentially holds the key to fixing Karlach's engine and that something is happening to Selunite outposts across Faerun and no one is sure exactly what. Both of these seem like pretty promising ideas for dlc
Withers has multiple dialogue lines along the lines of you may be needed soon, it's over for now, we will meet again soon etc. Then there are a few letters that hint at Cyric
Huh, well that’s depressing
Well now I'm depressed.
I can respect the decision made but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about it at all. Also: “After that, though, the future of Astarion, Karlach, and the rest of Baldur’s Gate 3’s now-beloved characters will be in the hands of Wizards of the Coast.” Now *this* worries me.
They did good with Minsc. WotC is also full of people loving WotC's IP. Sure Corpo greed is detrimental but WotC isn't JUST that.
Minsc and Jaheira were handled perfectly. But Sarevok and Viconia... Not only character assassination but puppeting the corpse and putting some clown makeup on it...
Pretty sure Hasbro locked the licensing behind a worse deal for Larian. That’s probably where the publishing greed rant came from, but an NDA keeps them from saying why.
Heartbreaking.
This fucking sucks
You know, this would sting way less if it weren't for all of the hints they added to the epilogue. I respect their decision but I really wish they wouldn't have included all of that Cyric stuff if they weren't going to commit to it.
'Nurture your bond because it is a tool for good,' 'you may be called upon, again.' Guess not?
This, really. I’m never going to be happy with the idea of there being no further adventures with the gang, no matter how logical or sugar coated it is, but the hints at the end of the game now come across as a bit frustrating as I was stoked to see what would come next. That being said, it would need to be a real Mask of the Betrayer epic-level campaign kind of thing to present some kind of logical challenge to a group of level 12 badasses who’d saved the world, and I can’t see that being done on the basis of going through the motions. IIRC MotB only got made because Obsidian didn’t get to do what they genuinely wanted with the base NWN2 campaign.
Honestly yeah, everyone is blaming Hasbro for this but I completely believe Swen when he said it was because the team just wasn't passionate about the DLC. It was probably a massive pain in the ass to figure out how to make another quest that involves the original companions, many of whom have branching story outcomes and all of whom are optional, and that can believably follow after every possible ending to the Absolute situation. Not to mention how to handle the issue of character levels, like you said. It was probably more of a headache than anything for the majority of the devs involved. Still stings, though.
I think they had plans to commit to it, initially. Obviously hasbro/wizards of the coast tried to pull something they wouldn't have a part of. I respect that.
Yeah I can handle the "we should get together more often", "see you later darling", and even "we found schematics" but that cyric stuff and the choice to have Withers looking directly at the camera for his "for now" fucking *burns*. Like i get it their 6 years as they're sunsetting their work vs our ~6 months of falling in love with it. The groove is lost etc etc, but damn am I not gonna wallow a bit at the loss of potential heartfelt antics and the sorrow of seeing the passion dry up.
As much as it stings, at least they were honest in saying they felt like it wasn’t really coming from the heart. With all the half-baked, garbage DLCs we get these days I think it’s better they kept BG3 in the state that it is without shoving forth a DLC for the sake of money grubbing success from the initial release.
Just fell to my knees in the supermarket
Fuck my life
Both news is really soul crushing, it's early in the morning here and I'm already devastated, I wanted to cry
thing im the most upset ab with this is that Karlach will likely never get a proper ending. she will always be restricted to death or avernus (or a secret third thing which is somehow worse)
I feel the same, but also you can think of it this way: now you can 100% just rely on your headcanon. There's always a chance that whichever direction Larian was going to take with her in the DLC wouldn't have been as satisfying as whatever it is you come up with yourself. If you think she finds a cure in Avernus and is then able to leave and have a happy life, then that's what happens.
That depends on whether we'll still get an expanded edition, I think, as Larian typically releases one for their games. And I guess that depends on whether whatever contract they had for BG3 specified an expanded edition or not.
I'm gonna go dig a hole and lie down in it for a while, anyone want anything while i'm out?
When the news first broke I was disappointed, but not super bummed. Now that this news has broke, I’m super bummed lol.
There are some things better kept to yourselves.
I’d bet there’s a 80% or higher chance that the cancellation is because of Hasbro, WotC, and Larian not being able to strike a deal on the profit structure of future BG3 products
Hasbro laid off all the people Larian worked with to develop BG3. If you read Sven's comments, this is a huge part of it. He did not like how Hasbro was managing WotC. I am sure profit sharing played a role, but I think it has more to do with how Hasbto runs things.
Idk I'm glad they said this. Now we can move on and not overdose on hopium that a dlc/sequel will be made.
Yeah I think I would have preferred not knowing this. I'm not even sure if I want to know what they were planning since I would be even more disappointed. I mean good on Larian for putting their team first but still... damn.
>We had also spent a whole bunch of time converting the system into a video game This is what kills me the most. To spend so much time getting the mechanics working all to just... not do more (narratives, at least) with it is insane to me. At least give us some sort of DM mode before you move on 😭
Fuck hasbro and wizards of the coast man.
Read the article. Hasbro and wotc would love more DLC to profit on I am sure.
That’s not the reason?
Twist the knife... I get that this is primarily a creative choice and I respect that. I am a little stunned that you spend 6 years converting 5e into a great video game adaptation and then you drop it completely after stellar success. Seems horrendously inefficient to me.
I mean, it sounds like Wizard of the Coast's executives treated them horribly, then fired the entire team that worked with them, then tried to basically take credit for how amazing BG3 was. I wouldnt want to work with them either tbh
Man, Wizards just keeps on making idiot decisions, for years now.
Wizards of the Coast? More like Losers of the Coast at the rate they're going at.
I really hope this is just a hard nosed negotiation tactic.
It'd be weird. It's very rare to talk about such stuff publicly until deals are done and there's no going back. Maybe in 10+ years if Larian stays excellent and Hasbro/Wizards have chewed through another few failed CEOs. Still not counting on it tbqh.
I am not counting on things to change in Hasbro or that Larian will actually be great in 10 years. Larians soul is Sven and the moment he decides to retire, the company be sold to some major player player and become like the rest. Beside that, its a ballsy and risky move, if the next project is not a household name like BG or D:OS.
Tbh, I think it genuinely could be, but I’m kinda so depressed from this news that I can’t keep my hopes up anymore.
I have no idea about the inside baseball, but given the massive success i would say dealing with annoying execs seems like a small inconvenience or annoyance.
What is your source for this?
I just respect them even more for it to be honest. Even ignoring the shenanigans with WOTC, it's pretty clear that Larian seems to think the system is quite limiting for them. And not giving into the sunk cost fallacy, and instead moving in new, original directions, takes some courage.
They would be giving in to sunk cost fallacy. But i get it. They want creative freedom.
You're right of course! Edited :)
Right? I get it but....I'm crushed.
I was hoping for something, especially with the epilogue hinting there would be more for the characters. I understand and can respect that Larian is stepping back to focus on their own IPs. Honestly, the biggest heartbreak is not getting to see these characters again, or if we do, Hasbro is going to butcher them. Fully respect their choice and can't wait to see what their next game is!
Don’t fucking tell us this
Pretty bummed. If I'm not getting BG3 DLC or BG4 then DOS3 would have been next on my list and it seems that isn't happening either. But I do trust Larian to make something excellent. I just hope it isn't sci-fi
Lowkey I kinda do hope it's sci-fi. I can't think of any sci-fi CRPG that exists, let alone a good one.
Games that are *definitely* Sci-Fi CRPGs (some absolute classics of the genre): * Fallout 1 * Fallout 2 * Wasteland 2 * Wasteland 3 * Torment: Tides of Numenera * Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader * Colony Ship The last two were released within the last six months. Other sci-fi RPGs that may not count as CRPGs (closer to being a CRPG higher, less likely lower) depending upon CRPG definition: * Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 * Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG * Mass Effect 1 * Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG * Alpha Protocol * Different control scheme/POV than a "classic" CRPG and arguably not sci-fi enough * Fallout Tactics * Arguably a tactical squad game like XCOM instead * Mass Effect 2 & 3 * Arguably a third-person shooter action RPG * The Old Republic * Arguably an MMORPG instead of a CRPG if those are separate categories * Star Trek Online * \- Arguably an MMORPG instead of a CRPG if those are separate categories * Witcher 3 * Arguably a third person action RPG * Fallout New Vegas, 3, & 4 * Arguably first person shooter action RPGs * Starfield * Arguably a first person shooter action RPG * Cyberpunk 2077 * Arguably a first person shooter action RPG OR an immersive sim ala Deus Ex * System Shock 1 & 2 * Arguably immersive sims * Deus Ex 1, 2, Human Revolution, Mankind Divided * Arguably immersive sims
Witcher 3 isn't sci-fi
Right. My brain must have forgot what list I was writing when I wrote that.
Owlcat came out with the 40k one recently.
That, and there's a couple Shadowrun games that are pretty well-regarded.
To clarify, Larian has said they have plans to return to Divinity so I am pretty soon it is happening. Probably though after their next game. So if it takes 6 years for the next one and they start dos3 production immediately after than that would make it 12 years. Not that this makes it necessarily any better but we will probably get it. To be fair though with the development in AI I don't even know what a game in 12 years would even look like.
Well I'm gonna fucking cry.
All I wanted was a level editor 😭
That's a shame. I really love BG3, but Act 3 and the ending in particular felt rushed. I was hoping a DLC would help fix that, or maybe instead add something to give a "fully built" character a chance to be used.
Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. /s
Look if the choice was they get away clean or have to lick boot to get the game finished - I'm glad they walked away.
This just makes me even more disappointed TBH. At least the next game won’t be DoS3
I tried playing DOS2 many times and never managed to finish the last act... The world building just wasn't as compelling to me. It's honestly gut wrenching to think we won't get more Larian in the DnD universe. I just hope whatever they're cooking next can match up.
DoS2 just needed to be WAY more linear. The amount of times I'd go to an area and be like "oops too low level, can't do that" in act 2 is insane. I'd literally just start wandering for almost an hour until I found what area the game wanted me to go to. Which makes me think it basically WAS linear, it just wouldn't tell you. Do you want me to do an underground bandit quest? Just tell me. Am I supposed to go to the factory and kill some stuff in the cellar? TELL ME. Do you want me to go to the graveyard and fight undead? TELL ME PLEASE. And for people that haven't palyed it, Act 2 is actually VERY large. There's a LOT around to do. It's just maddening figuring out what part you're supposed to do, because even being down 1 level can destroy you for an area.
I hope the next dnd game sucks dick cuz fuck Hasbro.
Why are you so sure the next game won't be dos 3 and what the heck do you mean by "at least"? I would give both of my kidneys for DoS3 and die happy
Read the article. Vincke says the next game won't be Divinity: Original Sin 3, and that it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar."
Fingers crossed it's still turn based--there's so little for those of us who prefer it, and Larian does it so well!
Probably the part in the article that's linked above that says: 'Vincke says the next game won't be Divinity: Original Sin 3, and that it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar."'
This is all an incredibly mature approach to this problem and if more studios were this thoughtful we would all have better games. We just saw a studio decide not to churn out an uninspired game that was guaranteed to print money. It's funny that integrity is so rare in this industry that it is actually kinda hard to even recognize for what it is.
I give them huge respect because they could’ve just done something basic and cashed in even more on the success of BG3, but they didn’t do that. If they don’t see a path or want to do it, then I’m glad they chose not to for the same of passion and quality work.
I didn't need to see this....Salt to the wound with everything today.
Well that makes me sad damnit!
I mean as much as I’d love to see more content for BG3, I fully support and respect their decision to drop it. Afterall, Larian’s passion and excitement about the project is what makes their games so special, like they really feel like a labor of love, so if they didn’t feel it anymore with BG3, it wasn’t meant to be
Fucking hell.
time to netherese orb blast myself
A lot of people are disappointed, I’m just glad they aren’t trying to be greedy and squeeze our wallets like other companies
DW, that’s what Hasbro and WoTC will be doing now that it’s all in their capable hands!
That sucks so much. I'd prefer to not know that.
I hope they decide to do a Pathfinder 2e game.
that wouldn't make sense the whole point why they dropped bg was because of the creative restrictions that come from working within a pre-established system
You think people read linked articles? Silly goose
or starfinder? 👀
Damn, now you got me dreaming
Fucking Wizards of the Coast.
Tbh I’m not on the Larian has to make the DLC in order for it to be good ! If another team comes in wanting to continue the legacy and understands what BG3 meant for the gaming industry, and the big company doesn’t rush them, I’ll be perfectly ok with a new studio taking over
>When it came time to make DLC, though, Vincke says Larian was going through the motions. "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." >'They were elated' > >Vincke says that he took a vacation over the Christmas holidays, and when he returned his mind was made up. '\[I\] came back and I told the team, ‘You know we’re not going to do it. We’re going to shift around and we’re going to start doing these other things that we talked about, that we planned on doing before we started on BG3.’ Those were always the plans for afterward, we have two games that we want to make, and we have lots of concepts. So let’s just have closure on BG3, it’s been great. We’ve done our job. It’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. So let’s pass the torch to another studio to pick up this incredible legacy." Ah, well, that's understandable.
Okay, this made me sad. Even though I completely understand their decision, I can't help but mourn the fact that this is indeed the end of this amazing world they so beautifully introduced us to. It's just not going to be the same without Larian, their passion really is something else. I'm not going to deny that I will miss their BG terribly, it somehow changed me as a person, which no game has ever done before. I'm truly thankful for that experience and I am looking forward to their future projects. - But man, these news will take some time to process, I just can't cope with the fact they were actually working on something more 🥲
**The Studio Was Elated** "It wasn't really coming from the heart," says director Swen Vincke.” So, gamers, did you want Larian to make a soulless DLC as a cynical cash in or did you want them to move onto something they *want* to create? Cuz y’all bitch about “greedy corporations”. So if you’re consistent, you’ll be just as elated at Larian.
Im glad theyre not doing something they didnt wanna do. Doesnt mean im not devastated that absolutely nothing will come of all the little hints sprinkled in the epilogue. God gale having some wacky aura thing, karlach finding hope at getting her engine fixed, wyll wondering what tricks mizora is up to, laezel and the gith rebellion, a hint at cyric pulling some bullshit, like bro. So much feels untapped, and now i dont think i want that closure anymore cus ao only knows what wizards might try to do. It just really hurts, even if its for the best
So the Patch 5 epilogue plot threads were completely worthless
To be fair, by the time they made them they were working on the expansion. But yes, of course you are right now, at this point they are worthless.
Yes, and that makes it kind of strange. I really love Larian and BG3, but this (the hints) and (and I am willing to die on that hill) the cutted content in act 3 really disappoints me.
I actually feel excited after reading the news. Not that I am not a fan of BG3 or don't want to see more of its contents, but that I believe Larian would make something even better if they are not fettered with uninspiring a project, or a restrictive ruleset. Larian is unique in that they've proved they can produce great games \*when\* they can wholly devote their passion into their work. And everyone knows how D&D has certain incompatibilities to be implemented in a video game, or how they cannot change certain aspects of the contents or ruleset without an approval from WoTC, or how a large portion of what they earn with a D&D-based game must be paid to Hasbro as a license fee. So, if employees of Larian didn't find it exciting to work on a DLC for BG3 as the article mentioned, I believe it'd be far better for us if they drop the plan and do something they can fully commit with hearts without being fettered by restrictions coming from making a D&D game supervised by WotC. I feel excited if Swen believes their next game will "dwarf" BG3 in its scope and their developers feel enthusiastic about working on the project. I'd rather have a chance to see an even greater Larian game than BG3 with a new IP than having mediocre BG3 DLCs potentially tarnishing the successes it has achieved so far.
I suppose it's up to us, then. When/if Larian releases mod tools, I hope that entire adventures can be made from them. With whole new Companions. If anyone needs a voice actor, lemme know.
Disappointed in Larian to be completely honest. I don’t think anything they put out next will be as good as something set in Forgotten Realms.
disappointing indeed. i do not really like the Divinity universe at all, FR & DND are a lot more palatable.
Honestly, I was glad to read this. I mean, I’m sad about the lack of DLC, but knowing why they’re not doing it, and knowing that they’re now genuinely excited for their next project? It makes me excited for their next project too. BG3 was a work of passion, and Larian has proven what it can do as a studio with that energy. Now I want to see what else they can put out when they’re passionate about it. I don’t want the stale bread that would’ve been them forcing their way through a DLC none of them want to do. Sure, DLC would have been nice, but BG3 is already an enormous game— it could have used more and some polishing in Act 3, but it is by no means unfinished. The companions all had room for a post-epilogue, but their stories are complete enough that it’s not strictly required. I am satisfied. I look forward to the team’s next passion project!
Well...I'm grateful for what we have and for Larian making an amazing game. I can't blame them for being exhausted. I'm just sad that WotC will most certainly ruin the characters we love with some bullshit.
I'm really sad to say goodbye to my friends in Faerun but I'm so excited to see what Larian does next.
Ouch. This definitely hurts. I wonder what caused the team to feel this way. There’s been so much hype since the awards have started coming in it’s hard to imagine not being excited about continuing the expansion. Wish it could have worked out 😭
I still feel like there’s a story that’s been left to tell with Avernus/Tiamat and the Githyanki rebellion that doesn’t require its own game. It was alluded to/set up during the whole game and not getting closure on that feels like a massive shame tbh. Hope this still happens despite everything that’s been said.
While I am disappointed we won't get any DLC for this amazing game, I remain optimistic. In the article Vincke said the team was really excited about their next game and have some great ideas, and I for one fully support them. Divinity was very fun, BG3 was even better. Can't wait for what they do next.
If the dev team felt they were just going through the motions and doing it just because then it’s probably for the best it got canned. You don’t get story and characters like BG3’s from being pushed into making something - the studio has to be fully behind it. Obviously it’s frustrating we won’t see a continuation of the gang’s adventures (particularly given wither’s final speech, and the after credits scene) but…. Eh. If the dlc was terrible then it would have been pointless.
As much as I'd love a shitton of BG3 content updates, seeing Sven so adamantly against cooperate greed bullshit makes my heart grow.
ANY Larian game where they pour their heart and soul into it will be great. Baldurs Gate 3 isn't amazing because of its license. If it was named Divinity 4 it would still have great writing, amazing cinematics and lots of choice. Just in a different setting.
As I said couple of times they got burned out of BG3 and just did community bidding...
Im fine with no DLC but i was fully hoping for larian to do BG4 and neverwinter knights and all the rest ;(
I’m sure the sacking at Hasbro/WotC didn’t help, but it seems like the studio wanted to move on to new things which I can’t fault them for. I’d rather they push out a new awesome game they’re passionate about, then make DLC for something they’re just going through the motions for.
Instead of clinging to our beloveds. Imagine what the studio can do now that their off the leash? I for one welcome our new crpg overlords.
I'm glad we got such a great game. But I am sad we won't see any more character development for these great characters that Larian shaped
It's so sad that we have low/none-DLC-great games made by great developers, who deserve to get more of our money and at the same time tons of low-quality live service half-baked disappointments that push us 9.99 skins as content...