Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke made unexpected statements regarding Baldur’s Gate 4. He revealed that the developer started working on Baldur’s Gate 4 shortly after completing Baldur’s Gate 3. However, the unexpected success of BG 3 led to a change in plans.

Development on Baldur’s Gate 4 Began But…

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke expressed that Baldur’s Gate 3 achieved tremendous commercial success. This success enabled the company to make larger investments in the series and opened the door to expanding the Baldur’s Gate universe. However, instead of immediately jumping into a new Baldur’s Gate game, Larian chose to develop an expansion pack for BG 3 to capitalize on its popularity.

The work on the expansion pack quickly grew in scope. CEO Vincke mentioned that the project almost became a standalone game in itself, with playtest levels and content being developed. At this point, the idea of developing Baldur’s Gate 4 was considered.

Larian, known for developing the Divinity series, stated that they would follow similar principles for Baldur’s Gate. They didn’t want to spend more than three years on a new game. Vincke mentioned that discussions were held about developing a new Baldur’s Gate game instead of an expansion pack.

After discussions with the team, Larian decided to move on to a new series instead of creating another Baldur’s Gate game. Vincke noted that by leaving the Baldur’s Gate series behind, the team would feel “much more liberated.”