Baldur's Gate 3 has been absolutely massive for Larian Studios, turning the plucky developer of excellent CRPGs into one of the games industry's most celebrated and illustrious powerhouses. Naturally, all that success has people wondering what's next for Larian, especially since the studio explained that it wouldn't be continuing with Baldur's Gate or Dungeons & Dragons.

Work began on Larian's next game after Baldur's Gate 3 back when the game first launched, and development officially "lifted off" in July this year following a summit held by the developer. We know that the studio has two games in the works at the same time, and that the next one out the gates will be smaller in scale than Baldur's Gate 3, but we still don't know when we can expect it.

For a moment, it seemed as though Larian CEO Swen Vincke dropped a clue during an acceptance speech at the SEA Game Awards 2024, as he claimed that Larian needed to work hard so that "we can be back here in five years." That would make the release window for Larian's next game some point in 2029, though Vincke was quick to backtrack in a later interview.

Speaking with IGN, Vincke stressed that his comments that he made on stage were a joke, and that Larian doesn't actually have any plans right now for its next game's release window.

It was just a joke. I don’t know, we’ll release it when it’s ready. They’re big games, and it takes time, so don’t hold us to a date.”

Vincke may have been joking when he said 2029, but it's very likely we'll be waiting that long for Larian's next game. We know that game development times are super long these days, with around five years becoming the standard, and Baldur's Gate 3 took a whopping seven years to make from beginning to release.

Of course, Larian is a big fan of early access too, and will likely go that route again with its next game, so it probably won't be another seven years before we get to play whatever the studio is working on. That being said, it sounds as though Larian is in no rush to release its next game, and I'm sure that fans of Baldur's Gate 3 will remain patient if it means that they get to play another banger, whether it be in 2029 or beyond.

Posted: Oct 07, 2024 12:32 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/larian-ceo-says-studios-next-game-will-launch-when-its-ready/