Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most acclaimed RPGs of the decade, partially thanks to its healthy post-launch support. Since its initial release, the game has received new content, new game modes, and even new endings to the story. But this well of content could soon be drying up.
Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has reportedly said that the team will step away from Baldur’s Gate 3 following one last major update slated for September of this year. Beyond that, he mentioned only “really critical bug fixes,” but by this point, the game is so polished that it’s doubtful it’ll require any.
This news doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Vincke has previously echoed this sentiment, confirming that there will be no major expansions for Baldur’s Gate 3 and that any future Baldur’s Gate 4 will not be developed by Larian. According to Vincke, it’s more of a passion problem than anything as the studio would rather develop its own original projects rather than be shackled to Dungeons & Dragons forever. Divinity: Original Sin 3, anyone?
That’s not to say there’s not still quite a bit for Baldur’s Gate 3 players to look forward to, however. Promised features like crossplay, photo mode, and improved evil endings will be rolled out over the remainder of the year (although it’s hard to imagine how they’d get more evil than a particularly gross Dark Urge ending cut from the game). Most enticing of all, however, is the prospect of official modding tools, which were also recently released for both The Witcher 3 and Starfield.
With this toolkit in hand, modders will be able to expand the scope and impact of Baldur’s Gate 3 mods significantly, going beyond simple armor and clothing mods to add new quests and potentially even new realms altogether. It’s almost inevitable that someone will enter a decades-long attempt to bring the first two Baldur’s Gate games into BG3’s engine, but even having the option to try something like that is a big deal for the game’s very active modding community.
With this support coming at the end of the game’s lifespan, it feels as though Larian is handing Baldur’s Gate 3 off to the fans once and for all to let the community tell their own stories and make their own fun with the sandbox Larian has created. The Sword Coast is ours now, and it should do well to tide us over until the studio’s next game is revealed.
