Key Takeaways
- Larian Studios’ next game may not arrive until around 2029, according to the company’s CEO, Swen Vincke.
- Vincke later clarified this comment, saying that it would be ready when it’s ready and fans shouldn’t hold the studio to a specific release window.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 took six years to develop, with three of those years spent in early access.
Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios’ next game may not arrive until around 2028 or 2029. Upon its release in 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 quickly became one of the most celebrated RPGs of all time, being compared by many to the likes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game also went on to sweep The Game Awards 2023, taking home six prizes, including Game of the Year.
Larian Studios has a unique way of developing its massive games. With several development studios across the globe in cities like Barcelona, Warsaw, Quebec, and even Kuala Lumpur, Larian’s studios are able to pass work along to the team in the next time zone at the end of the work day, ensuring that projects are being worked on around the clock. This strategy allows Larian to accomplish tasks that would normally take a month to take about a week, also allowing the company’s studios to avoid needing to crunch.
At the SEA Game Awards 2024 in Malaysia, the CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, accepted a Special Recognition Award for the studio. While on stage, Vincke mentioned that Larian’s next big game is five years away, which would have the title releasing in 2029. When speaking with IGN immediately following the event, Vincke clarified that he was only joking. “We’ll release it when it’s ready. They’re big games and it takes time, so don’t hold us to a date,” he said.
Larian Boss Jokes Its Next Game Won’t Come Until 2029
Considering that Baldur’s Gate 3 took a total of six years to develop, with the latter three years spent in early access, Vincke may not have been too far off when he joked about Larian’s next game coming in 2029. With that said, Larian taking only three years to get Baldur’s Gate 3 to a playable early-access state is impressive. If the studio’s next game actually is five or six years away, there’s a chance fans may be able to go hands-on with it sooner than 2029 or 2030. Furthermore, Larian’s recent opening of its latest studio in Warsaw, Poland may help shrink the wait time for its next game by a small amount.
…we’ll release it when it’s ready. They’re big games and it takes time, so don’t hold us to a date.
As for what Larian Studios is working on specifically, Vincke has already confirmed that the studio is moving on from Baldur’s Gate. The studio has more than one project in the works, with one of them confirmed to be a brand-new IP. Larian fans will likely have to wait several years to find out exactly what the renowned studio has up its sleeve for players next. As for fans hoping for Baldur’s Gate 4, that wait could be even longer as the project is seemingly still without a developer.