Why did Baldur's Gate 3 blow up? Larian lead writer says it's thanks to "a big gamble" with CRPG standards
Why did Baldur's Gate 3 blow up? Larian lead writer says it's thanks to "a big gamble" with CRPG standards
"We believe RPGs are big ... So we always believed the audience was there," says Adam Smith
"We believe RPGs are big ... So we always believed the audience was there," says Adam Smith
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It was all fun and games with CD project red until Cyberpunk came along. Let's see how Larian handles explosive growth.
Larian have already had major hits though: Divinity Original Sin 2 is more popular on Steam than huge hits like Sea of Thieves, Hogwarts Legacy, Hollow Knight, The Forest, GTAIV, and Borderlands 3.
BG3 is already a strong indicator that Larian have a strong identity as a developer and a commitment to quality.
CDPR’s biggest issue was investors as they were pressured to get the game out to reap dividends whereas Larian are private and the owner and biggest shareholder is also the director for their games. It’s a rare thing in our industry today and, so long as Swen Vincke can keep a hold of the reigns, we can be relatively hopeful for their future.
Public trading ruins every company in every industry, not only gaming, lets hope Larian doesn't fall in that trap.
Actually, CDPR's biggest shareholders are also its owners. But they don't have a majority share.
CD:PR made way too many unrealistic promises during development. It was already obvious they'd never be able to fulfill all of them, and the bugginess etc. came on top. I really hope Larian sticks with the EA (=Early Access) model, because it protects against exactly these shenanigans. I wouldn't have bought BG3 on launch day if the EA reviews weren't as stellar.
If you're like me and wondering what was ever good about the Electronic Arts model, here it means Early Access
Good point, that's a bit confusing. I've added the whole word after the first use of the initialism :)
The main problem with Cyberpunk was the drive to release the game on older consoles. The effort consumed dev time and didn't really work even after that.
The game on release on platforms that could actually run it was great, despite a few bugs.