In March, Larian announced that they will not be making the next Baldur's Gate game. The stunning success of Baldur's Gate 3 explosively revived the classic role-playing series, but will it be as popular without Larian and who will continue it?
This question is now being answered by Hasbro, owner of Wizards of the Coast and D&D. Robin Valentine from PC Gamer spoke with Eugene Evans, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Licensing at Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, about how the game series will develop. The good news is that the continuation of the games is very important for the company, but the company is currently studying in what form this can happen and who will do it.
"Right now we are talking to many partners, and many of them have come to us with a request [to offer] what the future of the Baldur's Gate franchise will look like. Therefore, of course, we hope that we will not have to wait another 25 years, like between Baldur's Gate 2 and 3, before we answer this question. But we are not in a hurry before finding the right partner, the right approach and the right product that can present the future of Baldur's Gate. We take this very, very seriously, as well as all decisions regarding our portfolio. We do not rush decisions about who we will partner with and what products will come out," says Eugene Evans.
The future of the franchise is not the only question. Baldur's Gate 3 introduced players to some of the best companion characters in the history of role-playing games - among fans, there are certain concerns about what might happen to Shadowheart, Astarion, and the rest of Sven Vinke's team given that the rights to them now belong to Wizards of the Coast, not Larian.
"Larian created beloved characters, which even had their own nominations, and the voice actor talent behind them was noted at [BAFTA]. And now they are essentially part of D&D canon. ... I think it is still too early to talk about the details, and I think there is a much more important question of how we will approach Baldur's Gate in the future. But I would like to think that all these characters, for the fans, may potentially appear in future products," noted Evans.
Considering how much fans feel connected to the companions, the community is truly worried about what Hasbro may do with them in the future. Evans was asked if he has any concerns about a negative reaction from players to their future incarnations.
"Oh, we never doubt that our community is passionate and will be the first to tell us if there is something they don't like about what we have done! This is part of what we love about them. The bar is set very high, and our job is to reach and exceed that bar," he says.
Evans enthusiastically acknowledges the miracle that Larian has done and the benefit that this game has brought to D&D - if there is any tension between the two companies after its departure, as one might assume, no evidence of this was found in the conversation.
"They did an excellent job with the product. This is an amazing celebration of D&D. Obviously, this team are incredible fans of D&D itself. And they've done just a fantastic job of bringing this world to life, which has been recognized not only by lifelong fans as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of D&D, but also by many new D&D players, which has been very pleasing to us."
According to Eugene Evans, games set in the D&D world will appear over the next five years and will cover "all genres, all platforms." It is not specified whether this refers specifically to computer games, but from the general context of the conversation, this can be assumed.
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