Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios wins Studio of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023
Nov. 10, 2023Rolled the dice and struck gold
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Following two widely acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin games, Larian Studios reached new heights when its faithful D&D RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 exited early access after three whole years. The mammoth threequel instantly became a smashing success as millions of players rolled the dice, courted their favorite characters, and expelled the wiggly little tadpole (aka the Mind Flayer) from their brains.
Larian Studios was up against some stiff competition for the award, with heavyweight companies such asCD Projekt Red(Cyberpunk 2077), Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake 2), and Nintendo EPD (Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Super Mario Bros Wonder) in contention. Also nominated was Mimimi Games - the indie team behind the excellent Shadow Gambit series - and Digital Eclipse - the studio that brought us the interactive, all-in-one documentary The Making of Karateka. Any one of those names would’ve been worthy, but the cultural phenomenon that is Baldur’s Gate 3 gave Larian the extra edge this year.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is nominated for seven separate Golden Joystick awards, making it the most nominated game this year. Larian has already claimed gold for Best Storytelling and Best Visual Design tonight, alongside its Studio of the Year award. But Baldur’s Gate 3 is still in contention for Best Supporting Actor, Best Game Community, PC Game of the Year, and the biggie: Ultimate Game of the Year.
In ourBaldur’s Gate 3 review, we said the studio had “accomplished the impossible” by creating “an entire, years-long pen-and-paper roleplaying campaign realized in beautiful fidelity.”
“It’s not just the borrowing of a ruleset,” our review continues, “it’s an understanding of what D&D is down to the most intricate details, the result of a genuine passion for its source material writ large across the years-long work of a staff of hundreds… It’s not just one of the best D&D games or best RPGs ever made - it’s a new gold standard by which the entire genre, if not the entire industry, will be measured.”
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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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