Larian Studios has confirmed it’s working on two new projects based on its own IP, with these mystery titles set to define the near-future of the studio. In a Steam update, the team has confirmed there are a “few tricks” left for Baldur’s Gate 3 in upcoming patches which will add “improved evil endings to the game” – but work will begin to wind down as Larian changes focus.
As the studio previously announced, its next project won’t be another Baldur’s Gate, despite the critical and commercial success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Rather, the team wants to work on its own projects, and “move on” from Baldur’s Gate.
“We’re not going to make new expansions, which everyone is expecting us to do,” Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios said in March 2024. “We’re not going to make Baldur’s Gate 4… we’re going to move on.”
Now, Vincke has doubled down on these ambitions, calling Larian’s two upcoming projects some of the “best work” the studio has ever done.
Read: Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t get an expansion or sequel from Larian Studios
“I don’t know if we’re going to pull it off, but looking at our narrative, visual and gameplay plans, I think what we’re working on now will be our best work ever,” Vincke said on Steam. “I get excited like a kid watching the key imagery, want to show it to everyone now and grumble in frustration at having to wait until it’s actually all working. Yes, it’s hype but it’s hype because it really looks and feels good.”
In the blog post, the Larian team has further explained that they value “the freedom to follow [their] creativity wherever it leads” and “after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, [they’ve] decided to seize this opportunity to develop [their] own IPs.”
As explained, the Larian Studios team is now looking to break away from the Baldur’s Gate franchise, so developers can work on more creative projects, under their own steam. It’s worth noting that Baldur’s Gate is a Hasbro / Dungeons & Dragons property, and therefore work on Baldur’s Gate 3 was constrained by a need to fit into this world.
Prior to working on Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios was working on similar games in the excellent Divinity series, and there’s every chance one (or both) of the studio’s new projects will be set in this beloved world. Whatever the case, it’s clear something exciting is brewing at the studio. New projects remain in their early stages, but they’re certainly worth keeping an eye on, as development progresses.
