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After stuffing everything, the kitchen sink, and bear nookie into Baldur's Gate 3, developers at Larian Studios are now struggling to make an RPG that feels totally new.
Larian could have easily iterated on Baldur's Gate 3's dice-rolling combat and nerdy erotica in a sequel, but the now-award-winning studio made clear in no uncertain terms that it was waving goodbye to the D&D license - crushing hopes for a Baldur's Gate 4 or an expansion - and instead focusing on some original ideas.
"One of the biggest problems we have now is that whenever we're talking about things, we say we did that in BG3," writing director Adam Smith said in a recent interview with PC Gamer. "And it turns out, we did a lot of things in BG3 when we think back to it."
But Smith is quick to point out that the same questions came up in Baldur's Gate 3's development, too. "Have they already seen this pattern? Have they already used these verbs in this order? Have they already had this emotional arc? So you're constantly trying to make sure that they're getting a new experience, and you're not just repeating yourself, and you're not just giving them content for the sake of content."
Larian CEO and Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke previously offered a different perspective, explaining that the studio's next RPG might "be our best work ever" - "Yes, it's hype but it's hype because it really looks and feels good." Whatever the studio works on next deserves a whole bunch of attention, but we'll probably need to wait a while before we see it.
