After 15M Hit Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Has Bigger RPG Ambitions

This week Larian's CEO Swen Vincke revealed some surprising facts about their smash hit Baldur's Gate 3 and future plans for the studio.

Latest Sales Figures for Baldur's Gate 3

Back in February, Larian Studios revealed that their critical and commercial smash Baldur's Gate 3 had sold over 10 million copies. 

But the latest sales figures hint it may be an even bigger success than initially thought.

In a recent interview with Gamespot, Larian Studio CEO Swen Vincke provided an updated sales figure, comparing it to their previous hit, Divinity: Original Sin 2. 

According to Vincke, Baldur's Gate 3's sales are "almost double D:OS 2 now, so it's really doing really, really well."

Based on the information that Divinity: Original Sin 2 had sold 7.5 million units previously, it's reasonable to assume that Baldur's Gate 3 may have sold around 15 million units at this point, which is an incredible achievement in just over half a year since its release.

Why Won't There Be DLC for BG3?

Despite the overwhelming success of Baldur's Gate 3, Vincke announced a surprising decision – there will be no DLC, sequel, or another D&D-based game in partnership with Wizards of the Coast. 

This decision goes against the conventional approach of capitalizing on a successful franchise with additional content and follow-up titles.

Vincke explained that while the idea of pursuing DLC and a sequel was initially considered, the team ultimately realized that it would go against Larian's core philosophy of constantly creating "big new things" instead of rehashing previous work. 

The studio wants to move on to its next ambitious project rather than revisiting Baldur's Gate 3.

Vincke explained it,

"We want to do big new things, we don't want to rehash the thing that we've done already, so that's why we said we're not going to do that. So, we're back on our original plan which is going to the next thing and the bigger thing."

What's Next for Larian Studios after BG3?

According to Vincke, the studio had already selected two games to develop after Baldur's Gate 3, and they are now back on track with those plans.

While details about these upcoming projects are scarce, Vincke revealed that they will be "big, ambitious, different from what Larian has done before, but also familiar." 

Interestingly, Vincke revealed that he has a dream RPG in mind, but its realization may depend on the capabilities of next-gen hardware.

While Vincke did not provide specifics about his "dream RPG", there are hints that it could involve creating a truly living game world with dynamic weather systems, day/night cycles, and NPC schedules that influence various aspects of the game. 

These features were initially planned as a stretch goal for Divinity: Original Sin 1 but never materialized due to technological limitations at the time.

With advancements in technology, Larian may finally be able to realize its vision of a game world that reacts and adapts to changes in its environment, creating a more immersive and dynamic experience for players.