Larian Studios shook the world of video games by launching version 1.0 of Baldur's Gate 3 last summer, the RPG has won numerous awards, but the Belgian studio has already announced that it will not develop a sequel or an extension. Hasbroowner of Wizards of the Coast and therefore the license Dungeons and Dragonshowever, is not going to stop there, especially after the tens of millions of dollars already pocketed.
PC Gaming spoke with Eugene Evans, SVP of Digital Strategy and Brands at Hasbro And Wizards of the Coastin order to talk about the firm's plans regarding Baldur's Gate. Developed by BioWarethe first two parts were released in 1999 and 2000, we had to wait 23 years before having a third opus, thanks to Larian Studios. Good news, Hasbro is already looking for a studio to develop Baldur's Gate 4the wait won't be as long this time:
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We are now talking to and being approached by many partners who are taking on the challenge of, what does the future of the Baldur's Gate franchise look like? So we certainly hope that it won't take another 25 years, like it did between Baldur's Gate 2 and 3, before we answer that question. But we will take our time and find the right partner, the right approach and the right product that could represent the future of Baldur's Gate. We take this very, very seriously, as we do with all of our decisions regarding our licensing portfolio. We don't rush to decide who to partner with on products or what products we should consider.
The lucky one will have the difficult task of getting behind Baldur's Gate 3 of Larian StudiosA RPG already considered one of the best of all time. That, Hasbro is aware of this:
Larian created a much-loved group of characters, who were even celebrated by their nominations, the voice actors behind them and the talent behind them was celebrated at the BAFTAS. And they are now essentially part of the D&D canon.
They just did an amazing job with the product. It's an incredible celebration of D&D. This team are obviously incredible fans of D&D itself. And they've done an incredible job bringing this world to life, which has not only been celebrated by longtime fans as we mark this 50th anniversary of D&D, but it's also brought many new players to D&D, which which obviously made us very happy.
I think it's too early to express specifics and I think there's a much bigger question about how we approach Baldur's Gate going forward. But I would like to think that all of these characters, for the sake of fans, could potentially appear in future products.
Hasbro obviously wants to capitalize on the popularity of characters as Astarion, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Scabies, Wyll And Karlach, fans are crossing their fingers that their favorite heroes are still treated in the right way by the company. But Hasbro knows very well that the fans will not let anything go:
This Baldur's Gate 4 will therefore not arrive for many years, until Hasbro find the right developer for this project, but franchise Dungeons and Dragons will continue to exist with other video gamesseveral titles are in the works at various studios and they should arrive a little more soon:
These games will appear over the next five years and will cover all genres, all platforms. And I think there's room in the D&D universe for many expressions of what D&D is, as long as we stay true to what people love about D&D and keep the franchise authentic . And we are committed to doing so.
Among these games we will have a title by the developers of Disney Dreamlight ValleyTHE Project Baxter by the creators of PAYDAY or even a video game in VR by Resolution Gameswhat hyper virtual reality enthusiasts. If you still haven't given in, you can find Baldur's Gate 3 has €59.99 on GOG.com.
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 Clint008Editor – Tester |