Baldur's Gate 3 dev nearly lost its chance at the D&D license because its previous RPG meant its pitch to Wizards of the Coast was "really s***"
Jul. 12, 2024“We didn’t have the brainpower”
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Baldur’s Gate 3lead Swen Vincke admits that Larian Studios' beloved Dungeons & Dragons RPG may never have happened - all because of stress surroundingDivinity: Original Sin 2.
Speaking in an interview withEdge, Vincke recounts the stressful time Larian had to present the publisher with a plan. “We need to write something guys,” he describes himself as saying. “Or we’re going to lose this deal.” Both he and a small group of developers then huddled in a hotel room, working quickly to craft a design doc in just a couple of days. “It was really bad,” Vincke says, “but we didn’t have the brainpower to deal with it because we were trying to do Divinity: Original Sin 2.”
The director details Wizards of the West Coast’s disappointing reaction and Larian’s response: “Wizards then sent it back with the corporate equivalent of ‘this is really shit.’ And we said, ‘We know, but we’re releasing a game. Give us an extension.'” Thankfully, Vincke states “Luckily they understood, and so we got another chance.” It isn’t easy to imagine what the gaming sphere would look like today if the publisher hadn’t approved - I know that I’d be down my all-time favorite game at least.
Baldur’s Gate 3 devs made the RPG for “a modern audience” including D&D newcomers, not just “fans of the original BioWare games”
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms’ clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she’s not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she’s probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she’s spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you’ll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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