Originally Posted by Delicieuxz

Now, regarding this:

Originally Posted by Wiborg Sturmfels
Since the outcry was predictable, I wonder why it was done anyway. Maybe Swen/Larian Studios had no choice. It is no accident that WotC released a new campaign for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game: Baldur's Gate: Descent in Avernus last year when Baldur´s Gate III was announced. It tells what's happened since Baldur's Gate II and plays 100 years after Baldur´s Gate II. It could be that the title "Baldurs Gate 3" was certainly a mandatory requirement for the game from Wizards of the Coast. No Baldur´s Gate 3 game, no D&D licence. In this case Swen had no chance to name the game "Baldur´s Gate: NamedItWhateverYouLike" and was forced to use the Baldur´s Gate 3-name. But maybe it was a strategic sales decision just to bring the D:OS identity to Baldur's Gate as a franchise because Swen think Baldur's Gate 3 will reach more people than Divinity will have done. Like he mentioned here at 3:30

I think it's pretty clear what happened. Larian said they approached WotC and that it took a lot of convincing to get a license to make a Baldur's Gate game. So, they went out of their way to use the Baldur's Gate title.

Larian have said that their decisions regarding their D&D DOS formula game have been made by themselves, including the type of combat it has - and that they chose to do DOS combat in their "BG3" because they don't want to take any risks (so why take on a different series?). So, they would be able to make a game that resembles the Baldur's Gate series but they have chosen by themselves to not do that.

Swen has said that they are using the Baldur's Gate name to promote their DOS formula and hopefully get more people playing their DOS games. That is a clear statement of motivation for Larian to call their D&D game "BG3".

Larian helped write Descent Into Avernus to make it a prequel to their D&D DOS formula game.

There is plenty of information from Larian confirming that Larian are not bystanders and victims in the decision to make a non Baldur's Gate series game but co-opt the series name to exploit the series' fans and promote Larian's Divinity brand. Larian have said their choices regarding "BG3" are theirs and that they want to do what they're doing for the reasons stated above.



It makes absolutly sense from a companies view.
If you make a game called Baldur´s Gate 3 you can use it over and over again.

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But Larian Studios have to be aware not to pay a too high price for that. I think it makes a difference for Larian Studios whether you go down in history as the company that made a worthy successor to Baldur's Gate 1 + 2 or just as a company that developed a Baldur's Gate game but disappointed the fans. Fans are old and young payers but of course the name Baldur´s Gate 3 appeals to the old school players. Larian Studios "player-base" which are people in their teens and 20s weren't even born at Baldur´s Gate release.
Don´t get me wrong, you can´t be everybody´s darling, that´s for sure. It´s nothing wrong to go new paths but a player must "feel" a Baldur´s Gate 3 as a Baldur´s Gate game. A Witcher games doesn´t feel like a Elder Scrolls game and a Baldur´s Gate 3 shouldn´t feel like a Divnity:Original Sin game. I wanted to highlight at this point the "BG3 Fact sheet" that you can download here. This gave me a total Baldur's gate feeling.

Last edited by Wiborg Sturmfels; 04/03/20 08:50 PM.