The creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 at Larian Studios are preparing to move on to new projects, but not without leaving a worthy legacy. According to the studio’s chief executive Swen Vincke, BG3 shipped twice as many copies as Divinity: Original Sin 2—nearly 15 million.
Vincke revealed BG3 sales were “almost double” that of Divinity: Original Sin 2 in an interview with GameSpot on March 21. Vincke also remarked that BG3 was more successful than the studio anticipated it to be, which tracks given both the speed of the sales figures and the game’s reception. Seeing as Divinity: Original Sin 2 shipped approximately 7.5 million copies according to Vincke’s interview with Eurogamer in 2023, that would put BG3‘s sales at over the 15 million mark and make it one of the best-selling modern RPGs of all time.
In late February, we learned that BG3 had sold “way over 10 million” copies, which means that a further five million copies sold is both realistic and astonishing given the game hasn’t even been out for a full year yet.
Expectations for Larian’s next venture are, therefore, astronomical, and Vincke expressed in the interview that he is actively battling with the fear of his next game performing worse than BG3. “There’s a lot of pressure,” he said. Larian is moving away from BG3, which is a Dungeons and Dragons IP, to pursue new ventures—though information has been scarce regarding what they could be. One thing is certain: it won’t be a D&D game, so it is highly likely Larian will try something of their own.
The announcement that Larian won’t be making either a BG3 DLC, sequel, or any other game in the multiverse came as a shock and disappointment to fans, but it may not be all that grim. Larian has the entirety of the Divinity universe under their belt and with two blockbuster successes in that franchise, I’d say the future looks bright for the studio. Even if Larian decides on an entirely new IP or whatever else, their back-to-back smash hits are proof enough that they know what they’re doing.
We’ll see what Larian’s got cooking up soon as BG3 approaches its first birthday in August.
