Re: [Polygon] Larian Studios won’t make any more Baldur’s Gate games

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:26:28 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

On 3/22/2024 3:37 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

On 3/22/2024 2:40 AM, kyonshi wrote:

Source:
https://www.polygon.com/24107939/baldurs-gate-3-larian-studios-no-more-dnd-wizards-of-the-coast
>

I was thinking nice things about Larian reading this.  Finally a company
that wants to put out good, _new_ games, not just endlessly milk a cash
cow.  Until this last paragraph....
 

>
However, Wizards of the Coast was hit with layoffs right before
Christmas 2023, massively impacting the D&D and Magic teams. This
includes the team that helped with Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Vincke.

 
That made me think this was more corporate spin as the execs were
thinking "Well, shit, there goes our cash cow franchise...."
 

>
Maybe WotC thinks they don't need that team anymore and that they can
replace them by AI. Seems to be their favorite idea lately.

Larian has actually issued a statement saying that the reason for the
departure is most definitively not bad blood between Larian and WOTC*
and, honestly, I can see that. In fact, I seem to recall the
developers saying - prior to the game's release - that there were no
real plans for them turning their game into a franchise anyway; that
for Larian "Baldur's Gate 3" was intended to be a one-and-done game.
The company has never been averse to going off and doing their own
thing, and has always professed to prefer to be in charge of their own
destiny rather than beholden to an IP licensor or publisher.

So this departure, rather than indicative of some breakdown in
relations between WOTC, seems perfectly in tune with Larian. I'm not
reading any more into it except that Larian likes to make their own
games, and while BG3 was a profitable side-hustle, it was never
intended to be their 'main gig'.






* no mention of their relations with Hasbro, though ;-)