Half the gaming industry is applauding Baldur’s Gate 3, but others warn its success could backfire if publishers miss the point. Dragon Age writer David Gaider has zero faith that big companies understand what actually made this RPG a hit.

The massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3 has put turn-based RPGs back in the spotlight, and fans are cheering the genre’s comeback. But while most are thrilled, David Gaider, writer on Dragon Age and Knights of the Old Republic, warns that what’s happening behind closed doors at big publishers might be a problem. He fears the industry will chase Larian Studios’ formula for all the wrong reasons—and make all the same old mistakes.

In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Gaider (who also wrote for the original Baldur’s Gate games) said the key lesson from Larian’s hit is this: an RPG can be successful without watering itself down for a mass market. “There’s no need to chase love from the audience or try to make the game appeal to everyone out there,” he explained.

Don’t Copy the Formula—Copy the Freedom

But Gaider doubts that major publishers really understand this. Now that Baldur’s Gate 3 (and games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) have shown another way to win, he suspects execs will simply demand, “Give us another Baldur’s Gate 3—on half the budget.” “That’s not how it works.” Gaider warns that cutting corners threatens everything that makes a narrative RPG great: time, resources, and creative freedom.

He believes the true legacy of Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t about copying a winning formula, but about rediscovering what makes RPGs special in the first place. “I hope the industry gets that it’s not about replicating a blueprint, but about committing to a creative vision from day one,” Gaider told PCGamesN. Only then will truly groundbreaking RPGs happen.

Romance in RPGs Should Never Be Just a Checkbox

Gaider also criticizes how romance in games has become a shallow, obligatory feature—now even showing up in titles like Warframe, thanks to the Baldur’s Gate 3 craze. “The danger is that romance becomes a mechanical box-ticking exercise: a couple of lines, a cinematic, and you’re done,” he warns. Having written Alistair and Morrigan’s stories himself, Gaider insists romantic arcs should be meaningful, not just another bullet point on a feature list.

Source: 3djuegos