Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2 were priced "below their value" by a Larian developer who "had faith" that they would make their money back.
In a thread on twitter, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse - who has been playing and enjoying Star Wars Outlaws - nevertheless said that he doesn't "love the artificiality of pricing structures post retail," pointing to the new Star Wars games' expensive Ultimate Edition and its various add-ons. Douse went on to say that "I think a game should be priced accordingly with its quality, breadth, and depth," and that "almost all games should cost more at a base level because the cost of making them (inflation, for one) is outpacing pricing trends."
I think a game should be priced accordingly with its quality, breadth & depth. I’m not against higher prices, but this arbitrary uniformity just doesn’t make sense to me. It feels so unserious.August 26, 2024
In another thread, exploring those ideas further, Douse pointed out that the "bulk of development cost is salaries," which means that as inflation drives salaries up, development costs should drive with them. And as companies attempt to bring in extra staff to get projects over the line on time, those costs can rise "astronomically" in the later years of development.
That can lead to executives looking favorably upon cost-cutting measures like AI, but Douse suggests that the bigger problem major studios face is the desire to "play it safe," and "follow trends." Those "risk-averse strategies," however, don't really tend to make better games.
I want good games. I get mad at bad games. I also price games (I priced both DOS2 and BG3 below their value because I care about people’s cost of living and had faith in our recoup) CE far below. Again, I had faith. So I’m not the “suit” ripping people off, thx RPS!August 29, 2024
Not following trends is exactly what's helped Larian make a name for itself over its pat few releases, and Douse says that allowed him to make a decision that would further help game's fortunes - pricing it lower than he could have. "I priced both DOS2 and BG3 below their value because I care about people's cost of living and had faith in our recoup," he says. The Collector's Editions, he says, were "far below" what Larian could have charged.
