Larian Studios is a Victim of Its Own Success as They Struggle To Avoid Repetition In Upcoming RPGs

To say Baldur’s Gate 3 was a massive project would be an understatement. Larian Studios went above and beyond the call of duty, delivering an RPG experience unlike any other. After all, that’s why the game won so many accolades when it finally hit the shelves.

Innovation was a key component of the title, enabling the studio to deliver a Dungeons and Dragons experience that no game had managed to create. But this may have been Larian painting itself into a corner, as the studio is now wondering how to move forward.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Has Made Things Difficult for Larian

Studios that aim to create something new need to contend with their contemporaries, but also with other games made over the years. As daunting as it sounds, advancing technology allows these studios to push their titles to greater heights. But it seems Larian Studios may have hit a bit of a ceiling with Baldur’s Gate 3.

The game’s development was an intensive process, with the team setting a goal to create a landmark RPG experience. Not only did the studio achieve this, but it also raised the standard of RPGs to the point where some considered it an unrealistic expectation. Now, that seems to be a stumbling block for the studio too as it moves on to its next two projects.

Speaking with PC Gamer, Adam Smith, the writing director at Larian Studios, expressed how the team is hitting a bit of a roadblock when it comes to creating original ideas.

One of the biggest problems we have now is that whenever we’re talking about things, we say we did that in BG3. And it turns out, we did a lot of things in BG3 when we think back to it.

Larian isn’t new to such a challenge, as the same happened when the team was working on the sequel to Divinity: Original Sin. The first game featured a lot of content, requiring the team to create new mechanics and features that don’t feel like a rehashing of the first game.

Fans Could Have Gotten Even More Content from Larian Studios

While the base game was beefy by itself, many fans were looking forward to some DLC content, which would have increased the playtime hours. Sadly, Swen Vincke has revealed that the expansions planned for Baldur’s Gate 3 have now been scrapped, despite the team being excited to make the DLC.

It’s sad news, made worse by the fact that the founder of Larian Studios stated that the expansion was something he felt fans would have enjoyed. The reason behind the scraping was the amount of time it would have taken to add to the already expansive base game. The team worked on Baldur’s Gate 3 for nearly six years, and it would have taken a significant amount of time to grow the story further.

The team has now decided to move on to new projects, with the same “player first, always” approach that made their recent release a success. We don’t have much news on the studio’s upcoming projects, but it should only be a matter of time before some information is revealed.

What would you like to see the studio work on next? Let us know in the comments below!