It’s not easy to follow up one of the greatest RPGs ever made with a worthy sequel. When it comes to developing Baldur’s Gate 4, even the co-director of Baldur’s Gate 2, James Ohlen, knows the simplest route to take is this: you don’t do it. In an interview with PCGamer, Ohlen revealed that he was offered a chance to make BG4, but called the idea “insanity.” Getting tapped to produce Baldur’s Gate 4 seems like a big break for almost any video game developer, but the reality is that a task this daunting is more likely to deter top talent than attract it.
It’s not that there’s no appetite for Baldur’s Gate 4 among gamers, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. A sequel to a game with as many accolades as Baldur’s Gate 3 would sell like mad, not to mention the massive and devoted fanbase that continues to play the game to this day. The problem is a logistical one. When you’re trying to improve upon a game that so thoroughly realizes the fantasy of “virtual role-playing” to a degree never before achieved, the odds of making a better game aren’t really in your favor. In fact, you’re more than likely doomed to make a lesser product by default.
Even Former Baldur’s Gate Devs Won’t Touch Baldur’s Gate 4
There are several reasons why a former Baldur’s Gate director isn’t interested in building on Larian’s work. Ohlen cited the monumental task of creating a game engine from scratch (BG3 uses Larian’s in-house engine) as one of many hurdles to clear on such a project. Yet the real issue is that Larian was simply the perfect studio to make Baldur’s Gate 3, and they absolutely crushed it. “Swen [Vincke]’s always going to be the master of building those kinds of things.” Ohlen said, “It’s really hard to take him off that throne, just because of everything—the tools, institutional knowledge, team.” It’s kind of like someone asking you to play basketball better than Michael Jordan. It’s nice of them to ask, but you’re probably not going to pull it off.
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The problem goes deeper than Ohlen’s trepidation, though. Baldur’s Gate 3 is, quite frankly, a masterpiece. It accomplishes things with its branching narrative that RPG developers have been chasing for decades: massive narrative shifts from a single decision, NPCs reacting organically to your character’s race and appearance, and distinct outcomes and party members depending on your moral alignment. These aren’t things that game developers have been able to do for years and are simply choosing not to; Larian broke the mold here. Pointing to another developer and saying, “Make the same thing, but better,” is an exercise in futility. There is no studio out there, regardless of pedigree, that could make it happen without a ton of luck going in their favor.
The real issue is that Larian was simply the perfect studio to make Baldur’s Gate 3, and they absolutely crushed it.
Even if a team could pull it off, they’d be looking at diminishing returns. No matter how good Baldur’s Gate 4 is, it will always be compared to its generational successor, down to the most minute detail. That’s just what gamers do; we compare games to each other. Any perceived failing of Baldur’s Gate 4 will be pointed to as proof that Larian’s absence resulted in a lesser game, while any improvements will be brushed off as being built on top of what Larian already established. There is no winning for the new developers unless they make another generational RPG. That’s where the bar is set, and that’s a lot of pressure to put on a team delving into a new franchise for the first time.
Then there are the complexities of the sequel itself. With a game that branches its narrative as significantly as Baldur’s Gate 3 does, even getting started feels impossible. You couldchoose one of BG3’s many ending variations and declare it canon. Or you divorce it from past entries entirely, making a sequel in a new setting and starring new characters, all of which completely ignore the events of the previous game so as not to tread on any one playthrough. At that point, if you’re not addressing the past games, and you’ve traveled far from the titular city of Baldur’s Gate, you’re not really making a Baldur’s Gate game anymore.
Even though it wasn’t bound to its predecessors, Baldur’s Gate 3 still fostered connections to previous games in the franchise through companions like Jaheira and Minsc (yes, and Boo), for example. There are callbacks to beloved questlines from past entries, and of course, there’s the city of Baldur’s Gate itself, which comprises the entirety of Baldur’s Gate 3’s third act. A game that discards all those connections but still calls itself “Baldur’s Gate 4″ will give the impression that it’s just cashing in on a namesake.
There’s A Reason Why Larian Wants To Move On
It’s also worth noting that Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke has stated, very firmly, that his team is moving away from the Baldur’s Gate franchise. He cited several reasons, including burnout, a lack of creative freedom, and developing a sequel being the “easiest” and “obvious” thing to do. However, there’s a bit more to it than that. Larian has somewhat publicly had its issues with Hasbro, the owner of the DnD IP, such as when Vincke lamented the layoffs taking place at Wizards of the Coast, which saw most of the DnD team who helped Larian conceptualize Baldur’s Gate 3 let go. It’s a philosophical clash which pushed Larian to return to its in-house IP.
No matter how good Baldur’s Gate 4 is, it will always be compared to its generational successor, down to the most minute detail.
The developer is instead working on a follow-up to Divinity: Original Sin 2, currently just titled Divinity. It also has a second, unannounced project in the works. While this frees Larian from having to work within Hasbro’s DnD IP constraints, it also lets the studio return to a universe it has been gradually expanding and iterating upon since 2002’s Divine Divinity. Vincke said: “I don’t think, as developers, we ever felt better since we took that decision.”
The move makes sense for Larian from a practical lens as well. After establishing itself to such an extreme degree, the studio had its pick of the litter. No matter what IP they chose to work on next, Swen and his team were guaranteed a green light. The thing is, you only get one carte blanche before that goodwill starts to fade (just ask CD Projekt Red). It’s unlikely that Larian wants to burn that opportunity by trying to compete with its own generational RPG’s legacy, or by trying to recapture lightning in a bottle. Instead, they’re smart to use their newly-built platform to show that their team can create masterful RPGs in any world, DnD-affiliated or not.
Some fans are no doubt disappointed by this decision, and fair enough. Baldur’s Gate 3 is an all-time great video game, but it’s also a very personal one. Between solo and co-op campaigns, people have built lasting friendships, told incredible stories, and maybe even learned about themselves while playing. It’s not easy to let go of the dream that more of those same experiences might be coming their way. But we can be honest here. There is no world where Baldur’s Gate 4 lives up to the legacy of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the sky-high expectations for its sequel. No matter which developer takes on the project, they’re more than likely setting themselves up for failure. Better, then, to simply let a once-in-a-generation game stand alone, and to wait for the next great RPG that dares to challenge its place atop the genre.
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
