BG3 Baldur's Gate 3 News Thread
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Baldur's gate 3
I hope that with all that success and money, they can progressively kick Tencent out of their holding.
Good for them the Industry is still a mess right now.
Anyway doubt we'll ever know the correct amount of sales or revenue. We'll also never know how much of that cash has been burned with development cost either.
Anyway doubt we'll ever know the correct amount of sales or revenue. We'll also never know how much of that cash has been burned with development cost either.
We just have to wait for the annual accounts to be published (and translate them from Dutch).Anyway doubt we'll ever know the correct amount of sales or revenue. We'll also never know how much of that cash has been burned with development cost either.
But who cares, we know it's a lot.
Owlcats founder had a thing or two to say about the impact and budget of BG3.
gameworldobserver.com
Owlcat founder breaks down RPG budgets and Larian’s impact on genre: “We can’t invest $200 million to make BG3” | Game World Observer
RPGs have always been one of the most difficult and risky genres in terms of production. Here is what Owlcat Games founder and CEO Oleg Shpilchevskiy has to say about the challenges posed by rising costs, as well as the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its impact on the industry.
gameworldobserver.com
'AAA game — budget in the range of $50-70 million' - is he still with references of the last millennium?Owlcats founder had a thing or two to say about the impact and budget of BG3.
Owlcat founder breaks down RPG budgets and Larian’s impact on genre: “We can’t invest $200 million to make BG3” | Game World Observer
RPGs have always been one of the most difficult and risky genres in terms of production. Here is what Owlcat Games founder and CEO Oleg Shpilchevskiy has to say about the challenges posed by rising costs, as well as the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its impact on the industry.
Anyway, the meat of the article is at the end, about what Larian changed. But Shpilchevskiy seems to contradict himself, from "Larian didn't set the bar" and companies will continue to make their niche to "now we have to do more cinematics". Even so, I disagree that you have to put more voice acting and cinematics in an RPG game. On the contrary, it takes a lot of time to listen to all the dialogues, and I'm glad all side quests are text-only in the Pathfinder games. It also emphasizes the main story.
This sort of 'Oh no, Larian raised the bar' speech comes a little late after the initial tweet, and it wasn't very convincing to begin with. Or maybe it's a justification of their AI job offering?
Take the blinders off and realize what he says is 100% correct.
His studio can't make a game that will cost 200 million let alone 50 million.
Owcalt is probably a B to A developer. They most likely make games with a budget of 10 million. Then again his labels don't match up with what I read about before.
Their latest game though sounds like it will be very expensive to develop.
His studio can't make a game that will cost 200 million let alone 50 million.
Owcalt is probably a B to A developer. They most likely make games with a budget of 10 million. Then again his labels don't match up with what I read about before.
Their latest game though sounds like it will be very expensive to develop.
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There's no blinders. It's just the same discussion all over again, and the outcome won't suddenly change.
The article says all Owlcat's games were AA, though I have the impression it's exaggerated. Even if they were, what they do is original and interesting enough in their area of the market not to be worried by the BG3 singularity. And they've almost made 3 games while Larian made BG3.
The article says all Owlcat's games were AA, though I have the impression it's exaggerated. Even if they were, what they do is original and interesting enough in their area of the market not to be worried by the BG3 singularity. And they've almost made 3 games while Larian made BG3.
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Larian Studios Won't Make Baldur's Gate 3 DLC, Expansions, or Baldur's Gate 4 - IGN
At a Game Developers Conference (GDC) panel today, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke dropped something of a bombshell by revealing that the developer isn't planning to release any expansions or DLC for Baldur's Gate 3, nor a Baldur's Gate 4.
I imagine they're probably burned out. Otherwise I would imagine they would at least capitalize on the tech they build for BG3, and release at least an expansion.
It's a real shame they won't.
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With the Hasbro drama not surprised. Onword to Originial Sin 3 or new IP.
Don't they have investments in many gaming companies? I see FromSoftware, Ubisoft, Epic Games, (Wikipedia seems oblivious about Larian Studios) and a series of studios they completely own or have a majority of shares in. Heh, they must already have all they need at their disposal.
Like Blizzard, they also had their moments regarding human rights, with very degrading behaviour towards women. I don't know if they solved those problems but there must be a good atmosphere, over there.
Baldur's Gate 3 Has Sold About 15 Million Copies, Larian CEO Confirms
Baldur's Gate 3, Larian's latest venture, has rolled over 15 million units at the time of writing, double that of Divinity: Original Sin 2.
exputer.com
Dungeons & Dragons Isn't What Made Baldur's Gate 3 Successful
Hasbro thinks the game’s success is indicative of a desire for more D&D video games, but it’s wrong
www.thegamer.com
I'm Glad Larian Isn't Making Baldur's Gate 3 DLC
Baldur’s Gate 3 never needed an expansion, so I’m glad the studio isn’t giving in to fan pressure
www.thegamer.com
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I disagree with the title of that second newsbit - the D&D name and Baldur's gate setting had a profound impact on in interest and purchases for BG3. That was why I bought it (and anecdotally why others I knew bought it, who didn't even know Larian) - *not* because it was Larian specifically. I would have bought it if it was made by any 'decent' studio (someone with some skill in making quality RPGs). And there *is* a desire for D&D games - they are just constant let-downs - with the exception of Solasta, which was in their own universe. Hasbro have throttled creativity and the scope of games in this space in pursuit of profits and I agree they don't care about what D&D fans actually want. Fortunately we also have Pathfinder, which has been a good alternative for 5e/Hasbro, and hopefully at some point Owlcats or some new enterprising studio will revisit that.
Titles are often reductive and provocative. They just mean there was more to it.
I'm sure the franchise and the ruleset played a significant role (in that order), but the winning formula included many elements, like the bear, apparently.
I'm pretty sure that Larian making it was a big reason for its success, too, along with how they managed the EA by listening to feedback, and giving regular updates and presentations. Look at how many people bought the EA, for example. You don't see that with any developer. Even Owlcat Games, who's known for in-depth implementations of Pathfinder, sold 1 million copies after 15 months, which is lower than what Larian sold during the Early Access - not even the half of it.
Making the game more accessible, adding high-quality cinematics and full voice acting, C&C, and immersive sim were certainly important, too. Perhaps even the choice of an easier ruleset like 5E helped, considering how often I've seen the Pathfinder games criticized for their steep learning curve.
That being said, I don't know if I would've bought an EA of D:OS3. Maybe, or maybe I would've waited for the release.
I still think that Larian would not have been anywhere near as successful (financially) with this game if it was not 'baldur's gate' (e.g. D:OS3) - D:OS did well, but not *this* well. I believe a large part of their success can be attributed to the BG franchise and D&D - both hugely popular. The EA was also a mixed bag - as someone who was in the EA from the get go *pleading* for certain features to be correctly implemented - only to be met with silence foe long periods of time - I was not overly impressed. Granted, eventually with all our wailing and gnashing of teeth some systems were introduced/tweaked (Like reactions) but much was still left as an unbalanced mess (mechanically speaking - I don't really care about cinematics or whether some companion kisses too high or low...which seems to matter more to them). They do put on an extravaganza - the panels from hell etc, but I am not interested in such PR, which is how it came over to me. I am not actually worried about others not doing a similar 'level' D&D game - they really don't need to. I enjoy all sorts of games - and to be honest I'm more interested in whether Owlcats will do another D&D/PF game at some point. And looking hopefully Solasta people will do one too.
We'll see how their next game fare. If we're still around.
There was a lot of changes since D:OS2; D&D was only one of them. As Swen explained in the Exputer interview: D:OS2 got a better story, but BG3 had much more C&C and cinematics. Larian's also more popular after each release.
You can't deny that they changed the game in answer to the feedback. At some point, we were even concerned they might change too much; for example, with the first companions being perceived as too evil. Other obvious benefits were the improved stealth system and the rogue class, and Wyll's personality. DD2's is the kind of reception you can get without early feedback, even if your game is overall fine.
More importantly than the feedback, it generated a constant chatter.
I agree they have their quirks, though, like in parts of the romance of the game. I'm only saying there are many factors that contributed to the huge success of that game, not just the dev being Larian or the setting being D&D.
There was a lot of changes since D:OS2; D&D was only one of them. As Swen explained in the Exputer interview: D:OS2 got a better story, but BG3 had much more C&C and cinematics. Larian's also more popular after each release.
I was there since day 1, too, and also made suggestions (for ex. against the chain system) and bug reports that went unseen. But have you seen the sheer amount of posts and all the mega-threads? I don't think an individual plea has much weight, unless it's backed up by enough players and not in contradiction with something else. There's a limit to what they can read and process.
You can't deny that they changed the game in answer to the feedback. At some point, we were even concerned they might change too much; for example, with the first companions being perceived as too evil. Other obvious benefits were the improved stealth system and the rogue class, and Wyll's personality. DD2's is the kind of reception you can get without early feedback, even if your game is overall fine.
More importantly than the feedback, it generated a constant chatter.
I agree they have their quirks, though, like in parts of the romance of the game. I'm only saying there are many factors that contributed to the huge success of that game, not just the dev being Larian or the setting being D&D.
You don’t sell 15 million copies without appealing to the mainstream. While in our circles BG and DND are selling points I don’t think the mainstream gamer is clamoring for BG, DnD games.
The DOS games, marketing, awards, almost universal praise by every major gaming site and the fact that it was just a damn good game is what got it to 15 mil. It definitely didn’t ride the coattails of BG and DnD.
The DOS games, marketing, awards, almost universal praise by every major gaming site and the fact that it was just a damn good game is what got it to 15 mil. It definitely didn’t ride the coattails of BG and DnD.
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Vaelith
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Agreed, it had nothing to do with it being DnD or BG, it was just an incredibly good game with an unprecedented scope and quality, at least in the CRPG genre. They are a massively well-regarded studio ever since the D:OS games, and the snowball just keeps growing as they keep making a better game every time. I'd wager their next game will sell more than BG3, and will be neither DnD nor BG. You may screenshot this and get back to me in 6 years.
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