So much of what made BG3 amazing was that Larian touch. BG4 is going to suffer a lot without them, and be monetized to hell.

I bought BG3 because I wanted to support Larian.

The list of studios that can do a good BG4 is very short.

God, not having Larian onboard is so disappointing.

BG4 (and BG5, 6, ...) will be a BG3 clone with some "additions for modern audiences" like loot boxes or an ingame shop.

It's safe to assume; if Hasbro takes it in their hands - that for BG4 we are getting something akin to that failure of a Drizzt game that released not long ago

Hasbro obviously wanted too much for their license. they had the perfect partner in Larian and fucked that up. so there is little hope that unless they change management that it will be done right. They already chose to do it wrong by cutting off Larian.

I was really disappointed when Larian said they are done with it. I would have loved another game in the Forgotten Realms. A wholly new story in a new region.

I hear you about the lack of exploration of other areas of Faerun. I would not even mind if the game were not amazing. Just something new. Thanks for the video.

Hasbro is REALLY miscalculating if they think it's the D&D part that is selling games and not the developers. Obsidian is the only other developer we could be sure would make a great game, otherwise, not really certain and would have to wait to see.

Like so many have already said, I feel I'm more a Larian Studios fan over a BG series or D&D fan. Games like BG3 don't happen by accident. Without a studio that will, (1) take it's time, (2) truly care about pleasing the fans, the game (should this be true) will likely be underwhelming. Consider the motivation to announce the sequel now. What motivates WoTC...money. This will lead to all the issues Sven was talking about.

Baldur's Gate 3 was good because of Larian. I have no expectations of quality. Hasbro is a politically compromised failing company as is Wizards of the Coast. They will partner with whatever studio will accept the money split that Hasbro wishes they had made with Larian in hindsight (meaning an oppressive and unfair one) so it will essentially be like a government contract going to the lowest bidder to create minimum viable product. Add to that the rumors of the selling of WoTC or just D&D to another entity, one name being floated is Tencent. I have no interest at a sequel, really, given the state of modern game design philosophy. On the other hand, if Larian made a sequel to Pac Man I would play it.

Larian's own game engine was also a perfect fit for a turn-based RPG. They had already mastered it and made vast improvements since DOS 1 and DOS 2. Some D&D youtubers went as far as saying that it was a better platform for virtual tabletop gaming than what Hasbro/WotC has in development.

They won't have the quality of the characters

Quite right. I bought BG3 because I wanted a turn based RPG with a good story. The complexity and depth of options available to DnD fans, is annoying to me. It is too much. Now as a result of BG3, I am a Larian fan. I now have some understanding of DnD. But it is a good story, in a RPG that I want. I trust Larian to deliver that. I would be skeptical of Hasbro delivering that.

I will always be interested in a game set in the Forgotten Realms and the Sword Coast. And as you mentioned there are many locations other than Balders Gate for a setting. The game could still be called Balder's Gate and have very little to do with Balder's Gate. I'm fine with that. I would hope Hasbo/WotC have learned something from Larian and BG3. Get the right studio, allow them the time and freedom to make a great product. At the same time a game would have to adhere to canon. DOS2 is a great game, but I never was into it like I am with BG3. I don't really care about the Divinity universe. I'll be watching to see what Larian brings us next. I'm sure it will be an amazing product. But just because Larian is creating the game doesn't mean that I will be interested in it. I'm not into space games, I don't care that much for the Divinity universe. So, we'll just have to see.

Larian had creative freedom to a high degree, and they were allowed to spend as much time on the game, as they felt necessary. After the success of BG3, I am not convinced Hasbro will allow such freedom to whoever the new Devs are. I'd love to be proven wrong, but sadly, the people in charge are rarely Gamers, and they don't care about the quality of the product, only about the profit.

I mean if they can get someone like Obsidian on board I would totally be on board

Larian not being involved sucks, that said I will wish whoever leads the BG4 project luck, you’ve got massive shoes to fill and are gonna need it, I just hope they somehow find another indie studio to take up the project and not a true AAA studio, I can’t think of a single AAA studio that would do this game right (also did anyone actually think BG4 wasn’t going to happen, since it’s a mega corporations ip and BG3 was such a huge success it’s basically guaranteed to happen for better or worse, with or without Larian, only a matter of time) Do I think a game made simply for monetary benefit can be successful and great? Yes but said companies need to realize that the reason big selling games sell well in the long run is because they had a level of work and care put into them, look at Zelda for example, Nintendo by no means rushes their bigger projects like their main line Zelda and Mario games, in fact they will repeatedly delay Zelda games until Nintendo feels said product is a good product, they sell great and for the most part are great games that are coming directly from one of the 3 biggest companies in the industry (I also feel called out on the “fan who doesn’t give a crap about DnD” part, that would be me, I didn’t play BG3 because I’m a fan of the BG franchise or a fan of DnD, I took a chance on a franchise I didn’t even remotely care about and ended up loving it)

Aside from Obsidian and Owlcat, there is Tactical Adventures (the devs behind Solasta), they have potential but I am not sure if they have the experience needed to fill in Larian’s shoes just yet.

I’m fairly certain that most people came into this game because of community hype, people vouching, and reviews giving BG3 its rightful hype. A lot of gamers don’t have to have vested interest in just one setting or genre to want the game. I think wizard can do just fine if they pick the right studio, give the right resources/ marketing, and over see the project with care. There have been good DND rpg games before and there will be after Larian. That’s not to say Larian didn’t set a new standard in the modern industry. They broke the mold, innovated and set the expectations high for game development and investment. But DND will be fine, many great fantasy RPgs will come. It’s a shame this partnership couldn’t develop between Larian and wizards. It would’ve put them both far ahead of any competition. But they will find success on their own if they’re smart and put the effort in.

I just wanted to say I discovered your channel few weeks ago when I started playing BG3 and I’m so glad I did, really enjoy your content mate love the videos

I'm all for exploring the rest of the world map.

Absolutely no one is hype for any game that comes from big studios anymore. Blizzard, EA, 343, Bungie, infinity ward, when I hear any of those big studios I automatically think half baked and unfinished and disappointing. Then I look at games by small studios like warhorse who just announced kingdom come deliverance 2 and I'm hyped because the first game had such love and passion sunk into it even though they made it on a show string budget it kicked ass compared to anything else that came out that year. Big studios can sink all the money they want into a game but at the end of the day if I find playing dwarf fortress over your 150 fps 4k digital HD extreme graphics game that only boast is it's graphics than something is wrong and it's not me or dwarf fortress

I'm so glad to hear you say that you want to explore more of Faerûn. I'm much more intrigued by the areas outside of the Sword Coast too! The Sword Coast is too overused. I wanna see Thay, the Dragonborn's homeland, the Nine Hells & the Abyss, the Shadowfel... Literally anywhere that is more high-fantasy than medieval human civilisation.

One company I could see doing it is the new "Archetype entertainment" because they have a lot of old bioware Devs including those who worked on BG1/2. But they're working on their first game: Exodus. Which is looking pretty cool so far.

I am with you on playing a game set elsewhere in Faerun. Vassa and the Bloodstone lands or eastern Faerun would be fun. I am working on something for my players set in Sembia 1350 DR.

It's baldover

Those Hasbro pinheads will flop and they are guaranteed to flop because they are functioning on half of a brain. You are correct, it was never that it was in "Baldur's Gate" and the narrative of Bhaal was well, meh and always has been. BG1 and BG2 road in on D&D enthusiasm. That's all. Larian did the material and D&D Justice and did their customers and fans justice. Do you think Hasbro will do anybody or even their products and franchises justice? Puh. Pfff. And furthermore, PUH. pffft

Hasbro: We are not rushing to decisions ... Everyone else: You are rushing if it comes to decisions where shareholders will see 0.001% improvement in earning like releasing people who made you money.

If it using the same mechanics as BG3 and a promising team is put on it, I would be be there for a BG4. I will also be excited to see what Larien will do next. I hope they use sales data on the books and put that into consideration for the next setting. Bawlspawns in Barovia would be metal.

They are going to ruin it

it's going to suck...

We can only hope the next Baldurs Gate is not just "Baldurs Gate 4: The search for more money"...

Something set in Cormyr would feel really cool to me. You could dip into the Hullack Forest and get a ton of the Fae stuff, and then dip into the Anauroch and get some epic Desert themed stuff there, while still remaining grounded in the "medieval" universal appeal. We need more Faerun!

Baldur's Gate is their "most valuable D&D brand", they are careful with the brand because they know that if their top-quality brand squanders they will not have a future in the PC: gaming industry. If you ask me where Baldur's Gate 4 should take place it should take place in Avernus. And have some kind intro in the city streets before going there.

I'd love to see some great cRPGs set in other parts of the setting. Cormyr or the Dales would be neat, or if they wanted a darker tone, I've always thought Westgate would make for a great spot to center a game. Really getting the chance to get into things around Thay would be really neat, too. Or something pirate related in the Sea of Fallen Stars? Ed has made such a great, expansive setting, it's really a shame video games have been so narrowly focused.

I'd love something that takes place in Rashemen and goes into details with the constant skirmishes with Thay. Chult would be cool too, an Indiana Jones esque romp through a D&D jungle for ancient powerful artifacts! Could also set things back in time as well, what if we're a group assisting Karsus in his ascension?

Youre absolutely right but these publishers are afraid to try new things. Theyll stay attached to the Name Baldurs Gate because of the historical rep it has. They have an opportunity to lay one egg and the majority will still buy it for the name alone. They wont take the risk.

So Hasbro smelled money?

Shame that I can't see more BG from Larian, but they have proved they can both make something great and create great adaptations. I'd rather want Larian to make something they own, and they control.

Thank you for the video S&S. I think that Larian might have done BG4 if Hasbro didn't fire everyone he worked with at WotC. Also, a couple of the people who worked for Larian on BG3 have left Larian to work on other projects. Personally, I'd be more interested in the history of Thay & a hero learning about the history & fighting the undead, liches, & such. You're right. The Forgotten Realms is huge. Why stay at the Sword Coast?

Where Larian goes, I go. I'm well into playing Baulder's Gate 3 as we speak

Hasbro just got rid of the head of their WOTC division. The replacement is probably going to spend some time attempting to woo Larian back to Baldurs Gate. These games take years to make, so it isn’t like BG4 would be next year anyway.

Maybe a trip to the Dalelands is warranted

thats like andy worhol's banana painting pplz like it not cuz they like banana. is cuz of the system and craftsmanship behind it.

for me its obvious who should make the next Baldurs Gate game, if not Larian, then it should be Obsidian and Director Josh Sawyer

They could use some of the other IPs they have. Yes, I know that some of them are still at the Sword Coast, but still. Here are some things they could do: - Neverwinter Nights 3 - Icewind Dale 3 - a remake or continuation ot the Savage Frontier games (Gateway to the Savage Frontier and Treasures of the Savage Frontier) - a remake or continuation of Eye of the Beholder - a remake or continuation of the old Gold Box series (Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools of Darkness) That said - I think they'll do Baldur's Gate 4 because the others are not directly linked to the success of BG3 (other than the fact that they're D&D and take place in the Realms). And Hasbro will definetly try to profit of this success. Personally I'd like to go to entirely different regions of Toril like Kara Tur, or have games that are not lokated on Toril at all like a new Dragonlance game or something using the Planescape, Dark Sun or Ravenloft settings. I'd also like to see a revival of the old Greyhawk and Mystara settings, though that is highly unlikely at this point. As for Larian - I'll buy and play their next game for sure. I've played all games they made so far starting from Divine Divinity and have enjoyed all of them and I'm not going to stop now. Finding a studio that can make a BG 4 a success - that'll be a challenge in its own right. In my opinion they would be better off using the undeniable attention BG3 brought to D&D by using one of the other IPs with an established fanbase like Neverwinter Nights or Icewind Dale which would still allow them to link it to BG3 but at the same time removes allows them to make something that is different enough to not be directly compared to BG3. Personally I think out of the studios I know only 2 would be able to pull something like this of if they are given enough ressources and time (which is exactly the question): Obsidian or Owlcat Games, both of which have released their own successfull CRPGs (Pillars of Eternity and the Pathfinder games respectively).

i want a dnd game where i can explore the feywild

There simply is not currently another team equivalent to Larian that would be capable of delivering an experience as great as BG3. I'd love to be wrong but I just don't see anyone else being able to capture that lightning in a bottle again. The hype will inevitably be astronomical when this happens, and that probably won't be good for the future of the forgotten realms.

If larian isn't the studio what is the point? Individuals make great games, not companies. Larian has great individuals at the company because they are private and not publicly traded.

They better not touch BG3 characters and just move on for another timeline.

I will keep my mind open in hopes Bg4 will be a good game but now Bg3 is Larians portfolio and greatest game so i look forward to see what the studio have in store for us !

WotC/Hasbro should be creating and retaining studios that should be gaining experience making games in Faerun, likely with BG3s engine before going near BG4. Maybe in 3-4 years they should even start. They should use the old hollywood strategy of making many movies and expecting several of them to bomb.

Damn. I am not sure how to feel about this? Cautiously optimistic. Fingers Crossed!

I guess it is a good thing that journey doesn't end with Larian, but yeah, like you said, it would be extremely difficult to match Larian's quality game. Also, Larian streamlined the rigid D&D rule to be more fluid. You can do environmental combos and whatnot. I'm not sure if someone would able to bring that alive. Is D&D 1 new ruleset overriding all existing D&D franchise? Because I've only heard negative things about it.

BG is Wizard of the Coast most commercial IP. If the want to make a BG4 maybe they should consider the following developers. Inxile, Firaxis, Obsidian, or Bioware

Import all your characters BG3 saves to BG4 if you have the ultra platinum battle pass plus!

I'm not as negative about this as some. While I have my concerns, it's important to remember that Larian's BG3 is a very different type of game to Black Isles BG1 / 2 so I'm not that bothered by the idea of it going in a different direction again. My actual biggest issue is I don't know why we need a Baldur's Gate 4, BG3 wasn't a necessary sequel and 4 is going to be even less necessary. Can't we get a Waterdeep game?

My only problem with RPGS is the gear. I want to wear what looks like something the character would wear, other than that I love when side missions have more care and thought put into it than the main story. That tells me the studio is passionate about the world and im gonna hunt for lore than.

Maybe owlcat...would take a shot

I think they would be better served by not doing Baldurs Gate anything without Larian. I would do what you would like, go to a different region and differs title. D&D but not tied to that name and standard now.

I'm calling it now: "Baldur's Gate 4 on mobile: Bing Bong's Lootbox Adventure". Live service action shooter. 😭🙄😱

I knew Hasbro was too greedy to not kill the goose. I have no interest in any kind of continuation they have in mind if Larian isn't on board.

As soon as Larian said they were not gonna work on bg4 or bg3 expansion I was reliefed, sequels foe the sake of it are never good, idk how i feel about bg4 being a bg3 sequel, like i dont know if they can keep writing the same characters and making it as good, i guess i feel uncertancy about bg4...

Having the name Baldur's Gate DOES mean it needs to start or end in Balbur's Gate. Otherwise call it something else. Like Neverwinter Nights being in Neverwinter. Or Dark Alliance being in the underdark. Or Icewind Dale. God I hate how corporations always buy a preexisting IP rather than making new ones or using the old ones they already have.

A game in the Dragonlance setting would be great

Yea, the worrying is very warranted me thinks, even more so now that I played through DoS1 & recognized where many of the roots of BG3 in world design, mechanics, etc took root from (and DoS2, which I'm about to play soon, seems even more closer in that regards) , originated from. Without that as it's basis, even a good studio will struggle, nvm the corporate pressure on them. Mby if someone like obsidian does it we can be on some hopium tho'...

So it'll probably be Bioware and EA and a Free-to-play nightmare a la SWTOR.

Technically cannon... What a slap in the face.

Larian's business policy, game-centricity, and fandom made BG 3 outstanding. If it had been made under the control of Hasbro or Wizzards (Or any other cancer company like EA, Activision, Ubisoft, etc.), we would have only received mediocre garbage reduced from the usual innovations. With topical politicization, paid dlc money rummaging in your pocket. I look forward to Hasbro's bewilderment when they face their failure.

I feel like who they partner with in terms of storytelling/writing is key. I think motive won't matter if they do a decent job with a beloved D&D storyteller or series. Something like The Dragonlance Chronicles (Weis and Hickman) would be amazing. And yeah, after that, they need a partner. And they need to be prepared to not make a profit on their first project while they get these pieces in place, because, imho, they actually do need to move fairly quickly on this. Something put out 7-8 years from now that they have a higher ownership stake in, isn't going to cut it. If they can't lure Larian into licensing their engine, then they're going to need to turn to someone similar. Star writing and directing (not acting) is more important. They should be looking to produce a series of games + movies + tabletop products that work in conjunction to tell an epic tale like they early phases of the MCU.

i have 0 faith in any future DnD product. i will w8 atleast a year to see if they sneak some BS in, even if it seems to be good.

Undeserving companies owning IPs is the bane of creativity. The right partner for what Hasbro is looking for won't be capable of creating an amazing work of art like Larian has done because Baldur's Gate 3 is successful in SPITE of Hasbro's influences.

I have more the impression that Hasbro can't find who could do BG4. It's a challenge for any studios. Question, why Larian don't want make BG4 or DLC for BG3 ? Swen saw what happen with Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast they had mass layoffs. He had a speech during an awards ceremony, he was quite upset. I have zero hope with Hasbro for making a BG4, they can go easily with this idea, we are going make a Destiny 2 milking game but with Baldur's Gate univers...

Even if bg4 was made by larian, i wouldn't be that interested. Ofcourse to some degree, but i had my adventure. there's nothing to add, and i don't want another one.

I bought bg3 because it's a Larian game. But D:OS3 is coming from them so no worries, that is going to rock.

for the life of me, I do not understand why they'd exclude larian. the results speak for themselves! why are these corpos always so vapid man :( I'll happily buy whatever larian is working on next, they've proven themselves to be ''true'' in every sense of the word.

If not Larian, it will suck.

I am one of those enthusiasts who will buy Baldur's Gate 4, no matter how iffy it might be. BG1 + 2 were my favorite games for over 20 years. Of course, I've been thrilled with BG3! Even without Larian, BG4 will have *some* built-in audience. Hasbro just needs to adjust its expectations. If BG4 sells HALF as well as BG3, I'd consider that a success.

They'll screw it up. They will think people like the lore/setting and not realize that it is the recreation of the table top experience and turn based strategy that made this game so good. They will make another hack n slash game and wonder why no one wants it...

Larian is like Bethesda. So many glitches that you expect to see every game. Obsidian would be the obvious replacement.

i wasn't much of a dnd guy until bg3 now I'm a huge fan.

I honestly would love to go to Chult

I feel like CD Projekt red, or even BioWare could do something with it and get it close to what it was with larian that’s if former larian developers who worked bg3 that got laid off decide they want to help. Maybe I’d consider obsidian cause I know they’d do good at best I can really only see these studios as the only ones that will even come close to what bg3 was

Okay so i was thinking who could do it in dream scenario. Would be Obsidian Entertainment or get Chris Avellone a team. But those dream scenarios but unrealistic being Microsoft and there history lately they will surely do a bid for it.

I did predict here a few months ago that Larian would be making no more D&D games. As for that being 'bad' news, time will tell....😉

I was already not excited about Baldur's Gate 3. Act 3 confirmed everything I was worried about, and more. Baldur's Gate 4 is gonna be even worse I'm sure.

I would want the Dragonborn playable......I'm shallow okay, not a lot of game give me a race like that. But seriously I am cautiously curious, simply because I'm in this area of wanting more. Pathfinder, Baldur's Gate, Divinity, Two worlds, I'm kind of on a fantasy rpg kick of a specific itch, but I'm not gonna just blindly accept whatever Hasbro gives out. I'm also very concerned for how Wizards of the Coast currently handles the lore and world of DnD, a lot of what they have changed hasn't been liked by fans.

The only other studio that comes to my mind is Owlcat Games. If Hasbro give them enough money to do what Larian did - full voice cast, cutscenes galore etc - then I think Owlcat themselves have the RPG making chops to do something great. But I agree that just doing a Baldur's Gate (the city)-centric story again would feel weird. I'd also much rather see some other setting.

I think the only real option for WOTC is to have Bioware/EA do BG4! they can create BG4 in there own vision.

I'll wait for the reviews. Not optimistic, but maybe.

Well, my hope is that Obsidian will make BG4. But I kinda expectz this to be done by a mobile games studio that makes a low-effort game with micro transactions which gets bad reviews, but somehow still manages to surpass BG3's revenue.

I bought Bg3 because of its d&d connection and didn’t play divinity. It’s a little early

well if they want to make baldur's gate 4 without Larian? someone is going to be really pressure on filling Larian's shoes! the only studios I can really think of are microsoft ( Obsidian studio, but they're busy woking on their own IPS) or Owlcat Games? there's also maybe? THQ Nordic and sony's studios? ( with Bluepoint Games and Naughty dog working on some sort of new Fantasy RPGS? and also Santa Monica Studio working on a sci-fi game)

So we'll be getting another instance of a game like the recent Dark Alliance entry. It'll be terrible.

I saw what onednd did to warlocks. I don't think I'll play a game based on onednd guidelines.

should they give it back to Bioware? if yes why, if no why.

the first good news is not a good news with such a bad news, who the fuck wants a sequel, that is NOT developed by Larian, i don't trust anybody with the ip

A BG4 is a no brainer. After the explosive success of 3, why wouldn't they want a 4th game?