Baldur’s Gate 3 mod update will be Larian’s ‘final handover’ to players
“We don't want to keep on doing the same thing, we really want to move forward and do new things”
Baldur's Gate 3’s upcoming mod support update, which will introduce official modding tools to the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons RPG later this year, will effectively serve as Larian’s swan song for their work on the game.
That’s the perspective of the developers’ CEO Swen Vincke, who told the audience during a BAFTA event recounting Baldur’s Gate 3’s demanding development - which spanned a number of years both before and during early access - that opening up the game for players to mod (albeit with some limitations due to use of the D&D licence) represented “the point where we're going to say, 'Okay, now it's yours fully'.” (Thanks, Eurogamer.)
Vincke clarified that the update won’t mean Larian will wave off the game for good just yet - confirming they would continue to address critical bug fixes - but will see “the level of support diminished” rather than continuing their current level of focus, which Vincke described as “working as if the game was just out”.
Asked if he was looking forward to the “final handover moment” as Baldur’s Gate 3 approaches the one-year anniversary of its release in early August - and almost four years since it first entered early access in October 2020 - Vincke expressed his excitement to look at the studio’s next projects, which - if you hadn’t gathered this already - won’t involve Baldur’s Gate in any way.
“We're working on our new thing, we're super excited about the new games,” Vincke said. “We're creative spirits also - we don't want to keep on doing the same thing, we really want to move forward and do new things.”
Working on at least two new games will be an expanded team including a new studio in Poland, with Larian saying earlier this year that they will focus on developing their own original worlds after spending six years in D&D’s Forgotten Realms. While they’ll be bidding farewell to Baldur’s Gate, the developers said their new games would be “fueled by the very same fire” as their widely acclaimed and hugely successful RPG. Expect them to come to early access in the same way, too.
“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 back then. “Yes, it’s hype - but it’s hype because it really looks and feels good.”