Summary
- Larian Studios almost lost the chance to develop Baldur’s Gate 3 because of bad timing.
- The studio was deep into developing Divinity: Original Sin 2 when pre-production on Baldur’s Gate 3 was compelled to begin.
- Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast was understanding.
Larian Studios is a shining success story of what an independent outfit can become if it never compromises on quality. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is widely regarded as one of the best CRPGs ever created, as is Larian’s next release, Baldur’s Gate 3. In a fantastic recent interview with Edge Magazine (posted online by GamesRadar+), studio founder Swen Vincke revealed the studio almost lost the contract from Wizards of the Coast to continue BioWare’s legendary series.
The studio was in the final stages of polishing off Divinity: Original Sin 2 after a long development period. The deadline for submitting a design document to Wizards for Baldur’s Gate 3 was also looming, but the studio was too deep in Divinity 2’s production to give the pitch the focus it required.
“We need to write something guys,” Vincke said to his team, “Or we’re going to lose this deal.” Vincke and a small team crunched over a weekend to create a design document for Baldur’s Gate 3, with the end product being “really bad” according to the studio founder. “We didn’t have the brainpower to deal with it, because we were trying to do DOS:2,” Vincke said. “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.’ Luckily they understood, and so we got another chance.”
The Next Step
Vincke went on to explain that he felt Larian needed a venerated IP to elevate the studio to “triple-A production values, budget, marketing, all the triple-A things.” In his mind, the only viable options were Ultima, Fallout and Baldur’s Gate. Vincke was correct in his prediction that Baldur’s Gate 3 would turn Larian from a distinguished indie RPG creator into a bonafide household name in gaming.
Furthermore, Larian Studios was founded in the ’90s and, as such, witnessed the success of the original Baldur’s Gate games and the rise of BioWare as an RPG studio. The Canadian studio was an inspiration for Vincke, and he would go on to incorporate some of BioWare’s design philosophy into his own studio’s RPGs.
Larian is currently working on two unknown projects, both of which are original IPs.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the long-awaited next chapter in the Dungeons & Dragons-based series of RPGs. Developed by Divinity creator Larian Studios, it puts you in the middle of a mind flayer invasion of Faerûn, over a century after the events of its predecessor.