Although the studio hasn’t officially confirmed anything, its co-founder says that, if given the chance, its game would be completely different from Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3.
When Larian Studios announced that it would not be working on Baldur’s Gate 4, but would instead return to its Divinity series, fans of Baldur’s Gate 3, which has sold over 20 million copies, immediately began wondering who would pick up the baton. Baldur’s Gate 3 was lightning in a bottle in some respects, so developing a sequel would be a massive undertaking for any developer. This is precisely why James Ohlen, a veteran of the RPG industry who worked on the first two games, turned down Wizards of the Coast’s offer to lead the sequel’s development. However, Cyprus-based developer Owlcat Games doesn’t seem too daunted by the prospect. Co-founder Alexander Mishulin told IGN as much, though he also clarified that a Baldur’s Gate 4 developed by Owlcat would differ significantly from the third installment.
“First of all, I would like to thank all the players and your audience who believe in us. It’s a great honor. You said we’re a bit masochistic. So, yeah, we will consider it a great challenge. In my opinion, Larian has created their own vision for a Baldur’s Gate sequel, and they presented it to us. Any other studio doing Baldur’s Gate 4 will create their own game in the Baldur’s Gate setting. It won’t be Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3 because BG3 is very much the Larian formula. It incorporates their ideas about combat and how they mesh with Dungeons & Dragons, as well as their concept of a co-op experience that integrates with the Dungeons & Dragons experience.
Any studio trying to replicate that is bound to fail. It just doesn’t work that way. Larian has been making such games for 20 or even 30 years now, starting with the first Divinity game. They have their own perspective on games and RPGs, and it’s a great game. But other studios will do things differently. They’ll have their own DNA and their own ideas, and they’ll pour them into Baldur’s Gate 4. It’ll be something completely different. I hope there’s a studio brave, passionate, and skillful enough to make that game,” Mishulin said.
To be clear, there hasn’t been an official announcement yet. However, fans have long hoped that Owlcat would be chosen for the project. It’s not much of a mystery: they’re simply the best-suited studio for the job, as evidenced by their long string of successful cRPGs, from Pathfinder: Kingmaker to Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and, most recently, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. There’s another one on the way: Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy. The biggest obstacle preventing Owlcat from developing Baldur’s Gate 4 is likely to be The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Owlcat has grown significantly, with about 600 employees, to handle this project alongside Dark Heresy. This is roughly equivalent to the number of employees needed for Baldur’s Gate 4, but the staff is split between the two projects. Although both are nearly complete, if they’re successful, there’s a good chance the studio will want to make sequels, especially for The Expanse.
It’s their first third-person, action-oriented game, and it could allow them to break into the mainstream. The Mass Effect community is still searching for a spiritual successor to BioWare’s masterpiece, though WotC’s Exodus, originally designed by the aforementioned James Ohlen, is also vying for the crown. WotC and fans may still have to look elsewhere.
