Following Larian’s shock decision to move on from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons, some fans have pointed the finger at Wizards of the Coast — but, according to Swen Vincke, the Hasbro-owned company is not to blame.
Last week, Larian confirmed it had no plans to release DLC or expansions for smash hit Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3, and indeed it had no plans to make another video game set in the D&D universe, ruling out a Baldur’s Gate 4 from the studio. Instead, it’s making a brand new game.
Following the news, some fans expressed concern that Wizards of the Coast, which owns and operates Dungeons & Dragons, had caused Larian to walk away from the fantasy universe. Wizards of the Coast is owned by toy maker Hasbro, which issued a statement to IGN addressing Larian’s decision:
“Larian has been an incredible partner, and together we are proud of the success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Watch this space for more on some awesome D&D games we are bringing to life through Hasbro’s studios and our network of licensing partners. We have an unbeatable library of toy and game brands and many fantastic partners around the world.”
Hasbro failed to respond to IGN’s question about the future of Baldur’s Gate now Larian is moving on, nor did it say whether Wizards of the Coast plans to hand the licence to a new developer. Baldur’s Gate 3 has made some $90 million for Hasbro, an impressive sum even as the company has struggled overall, experiencing a revenue decline of 15% and operating at a loss of $1.5 billion in 2023.
In December, Hasbro announced a huge wave of layoffs that affected over 1,000 staff just before the holidays. Following the news, Vincke offered his condolences to the massive group of Wizards of the Coast workers affected by the cuts, drawing specific attention to the fact that nearly everyone at the company who was part of early discussions about Baldur’s Gate 3 had left.
“I also want to thank [Wizards of the Coast] and specifically the Dungeons & Dragons team for giving us carte blanche,” Vincke said at the time. “I’m really sorry to hear so many of you were let go. It’s a sad thing to realize that of the people who were in the original meeting room, there’s almost nobody left. I hope you all end up well.”
Now, clearly mindful of the growing resentment towards Wizards of the Coast following Larian’s announcement, Vincke has issued a follow-up statement, defending the company.
“Reading the reddit threads, I would like to clear up something,” Vincke said. “WOTC is not to blame for us taking a different direction. On the contrary, they really did their best and have been a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing. This is because it’s what’s best for Larian.”
In an interview with IGN at GDC 2024, Vincke revealed Larian began work on Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC and even gave some thought to a potential Baldur’s Gate 4 before pivoting away to other projects because the team 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,” Vincke added. “It’s what gotten us into misery and it’s also been the reasons for our success.”
As Larian moves on to new things, Hasbro is now left pondering what to do with the Baldur’s Gate series and the incredible characters Larian created for Baldur’s Gate 3. Does it draft in a new developer to take up the reins? Does it leave Baldur’s Gate 3 behind, as Larian has? In a tweet, Vincke passed the torch: “As for BG3 and its characters – they now belong to WOTC and I think they understand how important they are for the community. I trust that they’ll be treated with respect.”
What we do know is there are a number of Dungeons & Dragons video games in development that are not Baldur’s Gate 4. Gameloft Montreal, maker of Disney Dreamlight Valley, is working on a new Dungeons & Dragons game set in the Forgotten Realms. It’s described as “a unique and innovative experience blending survival, action RPG, and life simulation that will test players’ skills in an unforgiving campaign set in the D&D universe.” And Payday developer Starbreeze is working on a Dungeons & Dragons co-op multiplayer game codenamed Project Baxter, although it’s not due out until 2026.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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