Do you think the impact of BG will really have staying power for Larian and CRPGs in general if they do not have DnD attached to them? Will BG3 be remembered as a great CRPG in general or as a DnD Computer RPG?
I don't see any other (or many) RPGs coming around with that much effort (read: budget) put into them. Even if they do, I think BG3 will be still enough one of a kind to be remembered fondly. I have some serious gripes with it - but guess what, so I did with D:OS2 and Dragon Age: Origins. And while with time people seem to become more aware of those games shortcomings, that still made positive enough impact to be remembered fondly.
I am not quite able to predict how much D&D is needed for Larian's continuing success. It definitely brought an audience TO BG3, but I feel those who liked it, liked it because of Larian not D&D. Would non-D&D licence alienate those players who jumped straight into BG3? I really couldn't guess. It is not inconceivable that even a straight up BG3 sequel might not do as well as the original. It would all depend on how much of the audience is attached to D&D/Forgottern Realms, and if they think Larian did it justice (aka. they would be up for more).
