Baldur's Gate 3 had a very successful night at the BAFTA Game Awards, taking home not just the Best Game award, but also accolades for the best music, narrative, and even players' choice. Speaking about the players' choice win, the CRPG's publishing director, Michael Douse, says it's "a testimony to the fact that a developer is not a dispensable asset."
Posting his thoughts following the awards ceremony, Douse calls the EE Players' Choice win "the most meaningful suggestion that we’re doing something right, something resonant." He adds: "Recognition from peers is always appreciated, but recognition from the players just hits different. You are our audience and, ultimately, those who understand us most."
Speaking about the ceremony itself, Douse notes that it would have been "a scientific impracticality" to have crammed every single person from the Baldur's Gate 3 team onto the stage, but "we can put them on a pedestal." He says: "The folks at Larian Studios are the most driven, ambitious, chaotic people you will ever meet. See you next time!
"Let it be a testimony to the fact that a developer is not a dispensable asset. Something to be decommissioned when it suits. That idealistic drive and institutional knowledge is exactly how great games are made," he continues. "Cherish your developers, don’t abandon them for easy gains."
Let it be a testimony to the fact that a developer is not a dispensable asset. Something to be decommissioned when it suits. That idealistic drive & institutional knowledge is exactly how great games are made. Cherish your developers, don’t abandon them for easy gains.April 11, 2024
Douse's words are particularly timely considering the issues that the games industry continues to face. Over the last year or so, layoffs have been ravaging studios across the world – in February alone, plans for hundreds of redundancies at EA and Sony Interactive Entertainment were revealed. Otherwise, there are ongoing concerns surrounding crunch culture and burnout, with CRPG veteran Josh Sawyer recently calling the latter the "primary hazard of the game industry."
As for Baldur's Gate 3's success, its 'Best Game' win at the BAFTA Game Awards is incredibly notable, as it means that the CRPG has become the first game to win all five major Game of the Year awards since The Game Awards began. For reference, it's secured those big wins at the BAFTAs, The Game Awards, the Golden Joysticks, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and DICE Awards, which is a feat that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, and God of War (2018) all narrowly missed out on.
Baldur's Gate 3's publishing director recently compared the success of the game to Palworld, and said "it's not rocket science" why the survival game is doing so well.
