As Baldur's Gate 3 approaches its first anniversary, one developer says that Larian is looking firmly ahead, and hopes to make another game as good as its hit CRPG with enough forward momentum.
In a tweet early this morning, publishing director Michael Douse said he had been playing Baldur's Gate 3 again. With just a few days to go until the game's first anniversary on August 3, Douse says that it "feels a lifetime ago we released it."
Playing BG3. Feels a lifetime ago we released it, Nearly the one year anniversary. Much forward thinking has been happening since. It is - unavoidably - weird looking back. But I’m able to look back at the game as a fan. It’s such a good game. Forward momentum will make another.July 30, 2024
While Larian will probably be marking that anniversary in some way, the studio is keen to look forward as well as back, and Douse says that "much forward thinking has been happening" in the year since launch. Game director Swen Vincke admitted as much earlier this month, when he revealed that senior Larian developers had gathered to discuss "lift-off" for their next game. Exactly which of the two RPG projects Larian is known to be working on was the main focus of that summit is entirely unknown, but it's clear that the viewpoint is forward, not back.
That forward momentum, according to Douse, is crucial to recapturing the level of quality from the previous project. Admitting that it's "weird" looking back on the game, he says that "I'm able to look back at the game as a fan. It's such a good game. Forward momentum will make another."
Larian - and particular Vincke's - focus on quality means that it's no surprise that the team is striving to make "another" game as good as Baldur's Gate 3, but it still remains a lofty goal. Baldur's Gate 3's record-breaking awards run was so prolific that Larian had to start sending rotating teams of devs to award shows. Matching that kind of success will be no mean feat.
Thankfully, Larian isn't completely done with its hit RPG yet, as September's Baldur's Gate 3 patch 7 won't be the game's final update.
