Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has admitted the Baldur’s Gate 3 team had “to crunch a bit” during development, meaning employees had to work overtime in order to finish the game on time.
As reported by Games Radar, Vincke said at the Digital Dragons conference that the amount of crunch required for Baldur’s Gate 3 was less than the studio’s previous games, however, and he thinks some overtime is always required to complete a game.
“Certainly less on Baldur’s Gate 3 than we did in the past,” Vincke said when asked if Larian employees had to crunch to finish development. “It would be a lie to say that we didn’t. We had things happen that we didn’t foresee.”
Vincke insisted employees, including himself, “didn’t overly crunch” but “did have to do a bit” to wrap up Baldur’s Gate 3. Employees would almost always leave by 8pm and worked at weekends “very, very, very rarely”, he added.
“I think, to be honest, you will always have a little bit when you’re trying to finish something, especially when there’s so much complexity that needs to be brought together,” Vincke said.
Crunch has proved a controversial topic within the video game industry, with developers such as CD Projekt Red, the studio behind Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher, being criticised for forcing mandatory overtime upon its employees. The backlash was seemingly heard loud and clear by those in charge though, as studio leaders insist CD Projekt Red has moved away from that style of working.
Baldur’s Gate 3, a Dungeon & Dragons based role-playing game, proved a smash hit upon its release in 2023, earning myriad game of the year awards alongside a 10/10 review from IGN.
“With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs,” we said.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.