Baldur's Gate 3 might not be the bane on AAA developers that it was initially positioned as - in fact, it might be more of a help than a hindrance for future RPGs.
In an interview with GamePressure during the recent Digital Dragons conference in Poland, game director Swen Vincke denied claims that Baldur's Gate 3 "strikes fear in the hearts of AAA developers." That sentiment, which Vincke has firmly debunked, was borrowed from a July 2023 Twitter thread from developer Xalavier Nelson Jr, about Larian's ability to set a new standard for RPG development.
Not only does Vincke not believe that that's the case, but it actually seems as though Larian might actually be more boon than bane on the rest of the industry. Elsewhere in GamePressure's interview, Baldur's Gate 3 lead writer Adam Smith said that "every single conversation I've had with an RPG developer since release has been them say 'it's cool because it inspires us'."
"I'm sure behind closed doors some of them curse our name," he continues, laughing. "I'm sure they do. But in the bigger picture, Baldur's Gate 3 shows what can be done."
Smith goes on to give an example of one unnamed developer who told him that Baldur's Gate 3 gave them "a little bit of leverage in the next business meeting. When somebody says 'that's too much,' we can say 'it wasn't for them. And look what it did. It worked.'"
That's a potentially bold strategy - there's no guarantee that extra cash makes for a better game - but having enough time and space to go into extreme detail around things like narrative and gameplay mechanics was a clear part of Baldur's Gate 3's success. If that success is enough to grant a little extra time and space to some more RPGs, then the resulting potential increase in quality could be felt across the industry.
