I don't think anyone's talking about shackling them to the project.
Except, that's exactly what people are talking about.
The discussion is literally about wanting Larian to go back on their decision, so that they can instead become slaves to BG3 and continue to work on that game and that game alone. (Or at least at the expense of other games)
They've literally expressed desire to no longer work on BG3, trying to make them work on BG3 against their wishes is exactly trying to shackle them to this project.
Originally Posted by Mels
Would another gaming company be allowed to add content to an existing game, even if it's in the form of dlc? A separate game with the same characters is one thing, but I would imagine the game is still Larian's.
That would depend on the details of the contract between WotC and Larian.
However, the most common contract is normally "We own literally everything about the game" - Which would mean that they do have access to the game itself and even the engine (But only so far as BG3 itself goes, they won't have rights to use Larian's engine to create new games)
Though, there is the possibility that their actual contract might keep some aspects, like the engine, under Larian's control. Only WotC and Larian know the exact details.
"Wanting Larian to go back on their decision" in no way equates to making them "slaves to BG3." Surely you can see how this is extremely hyperbolic and a serious leap.
And no one said they expect or want Larian to work on "that game and that game alone" at the expense of other games. In point of fact people have said they would be fine with Larian stepping away from BG3 for now and returning to it in the future when they're no longer burnt out from it.
My personal desire is for them to eventually release a definitive edition that improves upon the third act of the game to a similar scale as they have with their past games. And although they've done so for free in the past I'd have no problem paying for it.
