Larian Studios, fresh off Baldur’s Gate 3‘s triumph—with over 15 million copies sold and sweeping Game of the Year awards—has announced early work on a new original CRPG. CEO Swen Vincke revealed this in a recent interview with PC Gamer, stressing it won’t be Baldur’s Gate 4 but a fresh IP focused on ambitious, single-player storytelling. This move follows Larian’s split from Hasbro, granting full creative control unbound by D&D licensing constraints.
From a design perspective, this signals Larian’s pivot toward proprietary worlds, potentially unencumbered by 5th Edition D&D’s ruleset. Baldur’s Gate 3 masterfully extended Divinity: Original Sin 2’s engine with tactical depth—short rests for resource management, environmental interactions like barrelmancy, and a dialogue system weaving player choices into branching narratives. A new IP could refine these further, perhaps iterating on the Divinity engine’s pathfinding and AI, which already outpaced Owlcat’s often-clunky implementations in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.
Engine Continuity and Technical Implications
Larian’s in-house engine, honed over decades from Divinity: Dragon Commander to Baldur’s Gate 3, remains a powerhouse for CRPGs. It handles massive, hand-crafted levels with seamless turn-based combat, where positioning and elevation dictate outcomes more elegantly than real-time-with-pause hybrids like those in Pillars of Eternity. Having worked on similar systems, I can attest that scaling this for a new IP—without D&D’s multiclass bloat—allows deeper mechanical innovation, such as novel reactivity in companion AI or procedural storytelling elements.
Vincke’s emphasis on single-player focus counters the live-service trend, aligning Larian with indie CRPG torchbearers like Inflexion Games’ Nightingale experiments or the overlooked gem Underrail, whose unforgiving systems reward mastery over hand-holding. Expect ambitious narratives rivaling Planescape: Torment, but with modern production values: full voice acting, cinematic cutscenes, and modding tools that fueled BG3‘s longevity.
Comparisons to Past Larian Titles
Recall Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian’s pre-D&D breakout, where elemental combos and cooperative multiplayer redefined CRPG combat. The new project might expand this source-based magic into original metaphysics, avoiding D&D’s spell slot rigidity. Turn-based remains superior here—precise adjudication of actions without RTwP’s input lag, as seen in Obsidian’s Avowed previews struggling with hybrid pacing.
Speculation points to a 4-6 year timeline, given BG3‘s seven-year dev cycle post-DOS2. No platforms announced, but PC primacy is assured, with console ports likely via the engine’s proven cross-play. Larian’s 500+ staff, bolstered by success, positions them to rival AAA budgets while retaining indie soul.
Challenges and Watchpoints
Key risks: scope creep, as BG3 nearly derailed from ambition, and talent retention post-layoff rumors. Yet Vincke’s track record—eschewing sequels for evolution—bodes well. Watch for GDC reveals on prototyping, especially reactivity metrics quantifying choice impact, a metric Larian pioneered.
This cements CRPGs’ resurgence, proving turn-based depth sustains mega-hits. For the genre, it means elevated standards: expect competitors like Owlcat’s Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader sequel to benchmark against Larian’s reactivity gold standard.
Great news—Larian ditching D&D constraints for fresh IP means we might get a CRPG that focuses on killer gameplay and stories without all the tabletop baggage. Swen’s got the right idea: evolve single-player design instead of chasing sequels nobody asked for. Let’s just enjoy the games, folks, no need to overanalyze every pivot.