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Right now, Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the best RPGs money can buy with hundreds of hours of content and more on the way. However, before development even began, Larian Studios almost screwed the pooch with a pitch that CEO Swen Vincke claims was “really s**t”.
Baldur’s Gate 3 pitch was a disaster
Speaking to GamesRadar, the CEO explained that they had a short period to write their original pitch to Dungeons & Dragons owners Wizards of the Coast.
Still working on the also-amazing Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian was creatively drained. Nevertheless, they had to deliver something, and what they delivered was a disaster.
“It was really bad,” Vincke recalled. “But we didn’t have the brainpower to deal with it, because we were trying to do D:OS2. Wizards then sent it back with the corporate equivalent of, ‘This is really shit’. And we said, ‘We know, but we’re releasing a game – don’t ask us to make this now. Give us an extension’.”
Eventually, Larian came back with a second pitch that resulted in the game being greenlit. Releasing in early access and hindered by a Google Stadia contract that left lasting issues for the game, the studio ended up creating a gaming icon.
Looking back, Vincke knew the studio had to work on something big, a powerful IP to get Larian out of the AA space and into full AAA development.
“I felt like there was a glass ceiling that we wouldn’t be able to break through unless we had triple-A production values, budget, marketing, all the triple-A things,” the CEO explained. “It would have been Ultima, it would have been Fallout, it would have been Baldur’s Gate… There was not a lot to choose from.”
Right now, Larian is starting work on its next project, which isn’t expected to release until 2028 at the earliest. It’s not known if the studio is returning to its Divinity series or if something else is brewing, but everyone is excited to find out.
For more Baldur’s Gate 3 coverage, read Neil Newbon’s thoughts on his powerful performance in Act 3 or read about the cut content mod restoring early access gameplay.
Baldur’s Gate 3
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Platform(s):
macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X -
Genre(s):
Adventure, RPG, Strategy