I games as simple as NWN2, most dialogues, whether story or side-quest, involved the whole party, and were actual discussions - not simple player-npc back and forths. The player, external to the game, still ultimately got to choose what the party was doing, but it was as part of a discussion where multiple group members participated during the conversations, and these really help the party feel like a party - and yes, even back then, when you could change your party around and choose who you wanted and didn't, the game handled that, and only those present participated.
Right now, the morning after Astarion's bite-night is the closest dialogue that the game seems to have to that kind of full-party openness - most conversations where the player and party have choices should be like this.
It is like they want the IP recognition but they don't actually want D&D.
Sadly, yes - that's exactly it. The pertinent quote from Swen is this one:
"so, the chance to do that [take on BG3], and to bring what basically is our RPG identity to Baldur's Gate as a franchise was an opportunity too good to resist. And so, what it will do for us... uh, what we think it will do for us is it's going to show a larger segment of people, because I think Baldur's Gate 3 will reach more people than Divinity will have done... it will show a larger segment of the population what our RPGs feel like and hopefully bring them to play our other games also."
