I still think that this is simply a consequence of different playerbases crashing, which was a predictable outcome since this Dev studio had to choose that name for a game based in the 5th edition of D&D.
So they chose that name to generate hype, and draw people that played and loved the game 20 years ago. They chose the current ruleset, because PnP is becoming quite the mainstream phenomenon now. They have good RPGs in their portfolio with unique mechanics that are popular so they developed a new game.
Personally I only purchased BG3, because I liked BG2, which was my entry. I have not played the first until 2017. In 2016 I learned what 1d6 stands for and in 2017 for the first time I noticed that THAC0 stands for To hit armor class 0. I still do not know what that means, though. Regardless I played through BG2 6 times or so (and many starts) and played BG1 twice. I do not care about the D&D ruleset, I never understood it, never wanted to, never was necessary. I do not really care for the Forgotten Realms license, either, although a game that is called Deepwater, Neverwinter, Atkathla Sunrise, Real Ankheg Simulator or simply Minsc & Edwin, will immediately peak my interest. I have Divinity Ego Draconis here, played it for two hours, thought it was okay, never touched it again or any of the other Divinity Games. Totally uninterested, although I acknowledge that they are good and have a wide audience.
So naturally with this we have a game where multiple crowds meet and none of them is instantly satisfied. I am unsatisfied, because it is not an actual BG3, just referencing space hamsters and the vague promise of Minsc is not enough. This might change. The story so far could also happen in any fantasy realm and the FR license is not needed. If you liked the D&D in BG2 you are out of luck, too, because 5th edition is totally different from the D&D of 20 years ago apparently. If you liked Divinity you will feel familiar, but with a lot of concessions to D&D.
