After Baldur's Gate 3's unexpected success, Larian boss says the studio is "good for quite a number of years"
Mar. 29, 2024No layoffs or concerns in the studio’s immediate future
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With layoffs and studio shutdowns becoming an almost weekly occurrence in the video game world, Larian Studios' CEO comfortably claims the developer is “good for quite a number of years.”
“We built multiple failback positions in case it was going to go wrong - before we started doing this,” Vincke explains. “I have a minority investment, so I had that in my back pocket in case it was going to go wrong… otherwise I wasn’t going to take the risks that we took with Baldur’s Gate 3 because it was too much of a risk.”
Vincke also explains that strong sales from Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access tenure gave the team “a really good indicator” of how the game would sell when it properly launched. “You can forecast more or less where you’re gonna land based on early access sales,” he continues, “so we could see where we are.”
With such unexpected success, Vincke claims the studio is now “good for quite a number of years with where we are right now.” Hopefully, that sustainability lasts until even after the team releases its next project, as the developer currently has"two games that we want to make,“butneither will dwarf Baldur’s Gate 3 in size. Instead, Vincke is plottinga far-out mega RPG that could dwarf them all.
Elsewhere in Eurogamer’s interview, Vincke discusses whether layoffs and downsizing are inherent in video game development, especially after a project is finished and staff have nothing to immediately work on. “It happens, for sure,” he says. “When things are starting to run late, what can you do?” The CEO explains that outsourcing and contract work can sometimes help that issue, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution since onboarding can take up lots of time.
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“You’re an idiot,” are the words Vincke had for studios engaging in mass layoffs.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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