The Belgian team used the early access model to great effect with Baldur’s Gate 3, so why would they change the tried and true formula?

Michael Douse, publishing director at Larian, spoke to Game File about the studio’s plans. Larian’s last three games all launched in Early Access, with Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 using this model before Baldur’s Gate 3. The studio has already confirmed that they are no longer working on their Dungeons & Dragons IP (Baldur’s Gate 3 is set there), so their next project will be something completely different.

Douse says that in today’s game industry, which is dominated by larger, publicly traded companies, early access and a strong community are what make products stand out. The studio believes that “great social resonance” can have a positive effect in the long run, as it not only creates interest in a game, but also makes the gameplay loop strong enough. That’s why the team is optimistic about the early access route, and why there’s a good chance that the next Larian game will start out that way.

“We’re really lean and nimble and opportunistic, and I think we like to work with new data every day. None of the s*** we did in the publishing team was planned years in advance. And I think the same goes for the development team. If you asked us three years ago what Baldur’s Gate 3 would look like, how much it would cost, and what it would feel like, I wouldn’t know… We’re just nimble. Being nimble is key. Big companies are not nimble,” Douse said.

There is little point in speculating about what might come out of the Larian studio. They’ve left Wizards of the Coast behind, so it won’t be Baldur’s Gate 4, which is still several years away in version 1.0, because we’re not talking about a big team, and it takes 3-4 years to make a AAA game…

Source: WCCFTech, Game File