CEO Larian Expresses Ambition to Develop Games Beyond Baldur’s Gate, Including Fallout and Ultima

After reaping countless accolades from Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios has distinctly announced the development of a new game that is unrelated, yet remains shrouded in mystery. Most recently, Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larian, in an interview with Edge magazine, shed light on the backstory of how he had the opportunity to create a Baldur’s Gate game, a franchise within the Dungeons & Dragons universe with a vast fanbase.

Vincke revealed that the Baldur’s Gate series had been dormant for quite some time due to the closure of the game distributor, Black Isle, who released the first two instalments in 2003 (following which, the Black Isle team went on to establish a new studio, Obsidian Entertainment). The rights to the franchise then reverted to Wizards of the Coast, the owner of Dungeons & Dragons, without any further developments.

On the Larian Studios side, they have built a reputation through their ongoing RPG series, Divinity, but have felt constrained by a ‘glass ceiling’, lacking the opportunity to create a AAA-level game in terms of quality, budget, and marketing efforts. This led them on a quest to explore which franchise to tackle next in order to break through their self-imposed limitations.

Vincke expressed that the choices for renowned RPG franchises in the market were limited, with only three games piquing his interest: Baldur’s Gate, Ultima, and Fallout. While the opportunity to work on a Bethesda title (referring to Fallout) was out of reach, the chance to develop Baldur’s Gate eventually led to the highly successful Baldur’s Gate 3.

The rights to Fallout lie with Bethesda, currently under the banner of Microsoft, while the rights to Ultima are in the hands of EA, with Ultima Online still in operation to this day.

Source – GamesRadar+/Edge, PC Gamer

TLDR: Larian Studios is breaking new ground after the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 by delving into a new mystery game, as revealed by CEO Swen Vincke in a recent interview. The backstory of how Baldur’s Gate came to be developed sheds light on the studio’s journey to overcome self-imposed limitations and tackle renowned RPG franchises.