I guess one might say it was done for those who don't like to bother creating their characters or struggle with the process, but seems like a weaker argument to me.
Doesn’t the 5e player handbook come with premade characters? Character creation can feel like homework to new players, I can’t fault designers for addressing the issue.
Even if I’m not personally interested in pregens, I remember the feeling of starting a new game in Diablo. With just 3 premade options, jumping into Diablo is easy and smooth.
Lastly, though we may have some idea of the cost of origin characters, I don’t think we’re in any position to evaluate the benefit. Swen Vincke stated that the audience for Larian’s RPGs doesn’t have much overlap with traditional CRPGs. The origin system might be a reason why Larian have attracted new players to the genre.
Let’s give Larian a little credit. They have plenty of data on DoS2’s origin system. Had it been a complete failure, it wouldn’t have stayed in subsequent efforts.
Lastly lastly, the ship has sailed on origin characters. Production costs have been paid. Removing them now would only deprive Larian of their benefits.
Edit: Lastly lastly lastly, Wormerine makes a good point about drop-in drop-out multiplayer. It is a clever system.
