Who Should/Will Take Over For BG4?

SpoilerGeneral Discussion - [NO SPOILERS]

So OBVIOUSLY WotC aren't going to sit on a literal money making machine and do nothing with it. So there will probably be a Baldur's Gate 4.

Larian have already made it very clear they want nothing to do with WotC in the future and are going off into the sunset to make their own games. (Good for them imo.)

So who do you want/think will take over for Baldur's Gate 4? There's some obvious possibilities such as BioWare who do technically have a connection to the old BG games. (Though none of the original devs still work there me thinks.

I don't think it's really a BAD idea to do a BG4 without Larian I just don't think WotC will give the new devs the time it needs to make such a complex game and worthy follow up.

in BaldursGate3by Mattdiox

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44%

3d

16

3d

I want twenty years to elapse before BG4 comes out. By then, I'll probably not care when/if they bring back characters in a manner that doesn't align with my endings/head-cannon: Selunite Shadowheart, Professor Gale, the good/better endings

OP

6

3d

Yeah BG has a history of bringing back characters, if you haven't played BG 1 & 2 you don't realise just how many characters in 3 are either old companions from previous games or just major players from the story.

Depending on how long the time gap is some characters may be dead or on far off adventures.

There are also so many endings for some characters that yeah, no matter what ending they decide is 'canon' someone is going to be disappointed.

TheBluestBerries

42

3d

Don't care really. The game is good because its a Larian production, not because its a BG game.

Whoever takes over next won't have Larian's financial independence from meddling, nor the approach to game design that allows them to take.

OP

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3d

This is true and quite sad. BG4 will not live up to the hype and WotC will sit and wonder why, being completely oblivious.

2

I love Minthara more than you

3d

Nah they'll make enough to keep going

2

3d

They’ll rush for an unpolished game that will require way less resources and still sell it for 50 bucks making enough profit to keep going up to BG6 or so Each game lower quality than before

-2

3d

Larian does there own meddling. Not being a public traded company doesn’t seem to benefit them as they still released an unfinished game in august that still to this day is unfinished. It’s a fantasy to think they’re any different from other game devs.

TheBluestBerries

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3d

It lets them follow production timelines and produce subject matter that no publisher would have approved of if they had a controlling interest.

14

3d

I hope it's a generational thing tbh.

BG4 should come out in like the next 10-15 years being developed by a new crpg titan

OP

6

3d

This is a nice thought. I'd love to introduce my child to BG that way.

But sadly with how gaming is these days we'll likely see BG4 in the next two years which is not NEARLY enough time.

7

RANGER

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Noone

OP

0

3d

This is fair, but it will happen. So get ready for disappointment I guess?

3

RANGER

3d

Ah I like an RPG so....if it looks good I'll buy it and if not I won't y'know? The real big one is obviously whatever Larian do next.

4

3d

If it has to happen.

Obsidian

OP

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3d

I will never understand the metric of upvoting and downvoting on this site. I asked a question I thought as interesting! XD

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BARBARIAN

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You got discussion going, that's what counts. Internet points are meaningless.

OP

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2d

But my validaaaaaaation! XD

I know. It just confuses me. It also confuses me why I care.

3

3d

I mean bg3 is like semi 3 person, so just give it to CD project Red already, the developer of Witcher 3

1

BARBARIAN

2d

CD Red have two very popular franchises that they are planning on continuing. Why would they agree to WoTC giving them DnD with a million conditions and strings attached without any rights for characters and story they would create?

OP

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3d

Pass. :P

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3d

I mean it took over 20 years from Baldur's Gate 2 so I wouldn't even be certain one is coming.

OP

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3d

The gaming industry was very different 20 years ago. I would easilly put money down on seeing a BG4 announcement within a year and a new game within three.

1

2d

A new game within 3 seems quite a wild prediction? Large complex AAA games are taking much longer than that to be made across most franchises, look how long Dragon Age or Mass Effect games take, hell how long BG3 took to be made. Even smaller sequels take longer. The games industry has also frankly suffered a lot of layoffs and turmoil lately.

OP

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2d

Yep and WotC are scum. They'll fart one out.

link_the_fire_skelly

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3d

What necessitates a BG4? 3 seems plenty. Maybe we could have shorter adventures that are the length of act 1 that are standalone?

OP

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3d

For me, nothing.

For WotC, ooooooooodles of money.

link_the_fire_skelly

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3d

They would be best served hiring Ubisoft or someone who is used to putting out large projects quickly with decent quality. They would lose a lot of goodwill, but I imagine that would be their best bang for buck in terms of making money

OP

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3d

Ubisoft games are like Skyrim, oceans with the depth of paddling pools.

I like both Skyrim and some Ubisoft games. They are not good stories or particularly worth the money.

link_the_fire_skelly

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3d

But they pull in tons of cash

link_the_fire_skelly

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3d

They could look at an EA as well for the same purposes. You could easily get microtransactions to work in a BG4

2

BARBARIAN

2d

You want a good ending with Astarion? Cash out for a DLC with that one character and story part that makes it possible!

2

BARBARIAN

2d

In an ideal world I would just want DLCs expanding on BG3, one for each character. Living as Gale in Waterdeep, fighting through Avernus as Karlach, etc.

But we all know it ain't happening, sadly.

ColoniaCroisant

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3d

Spyder

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3d

Only reason I tried BG3 was because of Larian tbf. I'm not a DnD player, but I was a big fan of DOS2. Those DEVs genuinely care about their product, nothing but respect.

4

ELDRITCH BLAST

3d

Obsidian Entertainment

OP

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3d

Given time and mony I could see that.

4

3d

I don’t know but if it isn’t a Larian game I ain’t playing it

I wonder what happened behind the scenes for Larian to be so outwardly against them?

14

3d

WotC is a notoriously dogshit company.

9

3d

hasbro has their tentacles all over it, so much so that nobody from the original WotC that worked on D&D is still there.

6

3d

Larian haven't really been outwardly against them. They've been pretty explicit about WOTC not being to blame for them taking a new direction, and that they were a great licensor.

7

3d

It strikes me that most Larian employees and the owner are pretty savvy when it comes to communicating publicly, they know that officially blaming Hasbro/WotC could easily make life very difficult for them. They're not going to do that unless they're really stupid.

-4

3d

There's a big difference between savvy PR, and explicitly stating that the speculation is incorrect and WOTC isn't to blame.

1

3d

There really, really isn't when you're talking about facing off against a company as gargantuan as Hasbro. It's like antagonizing Disney.

Revolutionary-Mix278

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3d

Look at magic the gathering content creators. A lot of them openly complain about wotc, everyone of the still fine.

1

3d

I know critical thinking skills are in short supplies these days but ye gawds.

2

3d

It’s strange that the would! I mean if they make BG4, it’s going to be a super hit for sure. I guess there wouldn’t be much room to innovate since they’d be tied to D&D ruleset. I could see them going for a DOS3 which would give their creative team more space to shine.

Man, a DOS 3 would be insane. I’m being greedy but I can’t get enough of Larian. My 4 player co-op COVID DOS 2 run was probably the best experience of my life (along covid Witcher 3 and BG3)

OP

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3d

Larian shine when they have that freedom.

I like BG3 and it's definitely a better overal experience to DOS2 but DOS2's story and characters are just better for me.

There's so many little things about BG3 that fall apart if you think about them too much or characters make decisions that make literally no sense from what we've established in the umpteen hours we've known them.

Everyone goes gaga for Astarion but The Red Prince is just that same architype done 1000% better. "Water? WINE YOU FOOL!"

4

3d

DOS 2 with BG3 QoL and polish would be amazing. Both 10/10 games for me in their own right regardless

OP

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3d

Absolutely.

2

3d

The main reason they said about not doing DLC was that the D&D rules were constraining them too much to do what they wanted to do, so that's probably a big part in why they are going back to their own IPs. The other big factor is likely how they said they were surprised by BG3's success, since they already had plans for what their next games were going to be (which they've said is plans for their next two games, so a new Divinity game is a reasonably likely bet for one of the two).

1

3d

Makes sense!

-1

3d

That’s a lie. Sven lies like any other CEO.

2

3d

be funny as hell if they gave it to owlcat, who makes the pathfinder games

6

3d

Yeah no, that would be horrible. Owlcat games are buggy as hell and always release half baked. And their encounter design is just inflate monster ac and stats to obscene levels.

No thanks.

They also had a bunch of their fanboys defending the fact that you had to use a mod to manually trigger/edit script flags to progress in the game months after release. Like, the three games of theirs that I’ve played all released in an unacceptable state

2

Tiefling

3d

As much as I LOVE Pathfinder and Rogue Trader...fuck no keep Owlcat away from Baldur's Gate. It'll be a buggy mess that will darn near require pc mods to fix so console players will be out of luck.

Plus they'll shoehorn some obscene time sink if a system that people will hate

Stares motherfuckerly at Kingdom and Crusade management and Navigator's Insight

Owlcat can write great stories with good characters but they crap the bed on so many moment to moment mechanics that are just unbalanced and random threats to bricking saves.

1

BARBARIAN

2d

They also honestly suck on delivering said story. A lot of times characters in Pathfinder just dump parts of their story on you when you reach some arbitrary part of story or something. In BG3 and DOS2 it's way more natural.

Owlcat clearly have their priorities around making some strategy-lime management system and a shit ton of encounters, like really a lot. Telling a story comes secondary.

3

3d

So OBVIOUSLY WotC aren't going to sit on a literal money making machine

And this right here is why I'm very disinterested in BG4. Because any game that comes out will be extremely badly made and ill-thought through, because WotC is going to force any company that accepts to rush development. They're not going to accept another Larian. So I'll be honest, I don't really care because it will make no difference who it is.

OP

1

3d

This is very true. It's sad really.

1

3d

EA.

You can get enough XP in the game to put you up to lvl5 and can go up to lvl20 with microtransactions that you must pay each new playthrough.

And you can only drop up to uncommon gear from bosses, but can pay loot boxes for rare and very rare gear.

And the game is unbeatable at lvl5 with uncommon gear

1

Lolth-sworn

2d

They sat on the money making machine for like 20 years. I wouldn't hold my breath for a BG4 anywhere in the next 10 years.

There will be other DnD video games tho.

OP

1

2d

The videogame industry was vastly different 20 years ago.

1

Lolth-sworn

2d

The wish for Baldur's Gate 3 has always been there. They would have made money no matter when it would have been released.

Feisty_Steak_8398

1

2d

If they have to make BG4 in the next few years:

Probably CDPR or FROMSOFT

The 'never' list: EA, Blizzard, Bethesda. . . and many others

1

BARBARIAN

2d

Actually that's what I expect, WoTC sitting on their money making machine and doing nothing. They will probably want only a really good, big and reputable studio for the next game, but will also roll out such ridiculous list of demands and conditions that no good studio in their right mind will agree.

I fully expect WoTC to believe that BG3 success is solely relied on DnD brand and BG name, not on Larian putting work in it.

OP

1

2d

WotC are using AI to make their magic cards right?

I really don't have the same faith in them as some people have. I think having one of the most successful games of last year and THE most successful CRPG of all time is enough insentive to continue being a scumbag company.

0

3d

I personally think Veilguard will show that BioWare couldn't do BG4 justice at all.

Anyways, I have no idea, and I really don't care all that much if Larian's not doing it - I just hope that they're not doing the very obvious thing which would be to use some companion evil endings as cannon.

Gale free of his obsessesion with ambition and Astarion as a free and happy spawn taking gigs as a hero are endings to warm the heart and give closure - but the God of Ambition and the Vampire Ascendant are very attractive antagonists. And them being done like that would make me sad.

OP

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3d

Any particular reason why you think Veilguard will show that?

-1

3d

Yeah, a few, and I'm sure a lot of people don't agree, but I'm a cynic after DA:I and ME:A, and the state of BioWare and AAA gaming isn't exactly better in 2024...

the way the project has been handled and communicated until now (while it was called Dreadwolf)
simplified combat style because quote "turn based games are not fun"
only two companions, which I really don't get, unless they had a need to simplify things ever further
as of now, the companion gallery looks "fiction tropes 101" to me
it does still give a cartoony impression and personally that does not fill me with glee
clearly trying to do they things they thought made BG3 great (pansexual world, sex scenes that are "a little spicy" (!), "such diverse personalities", "extremely interesting characters") without really getting exactly what that was - you can't just say that and make it true*.
already in the trailer/gameplay vids you can see the difference in quality with little mocap and facial animation compared to BG3.
writing and pacing is also a little weird in the released play vid - I'm really wondering if they released something a little random or something they actually felt was the "best".

They will have to impress a lot for the major BG3 fans to switch over with Patch 7 coming in September. Might be a good reason to simplify the combat style so they can draw in other types of players for an extended time time.

Of course, it can also be the fact that BioWare is in all the gaming medias pockets, overly positive articles are being churned out like clockwork and Twitter is clearly filled with actual shills (just click "show hidden tweets" for those people, all the tweets trying to actual discuss the game are hidden) that annoys me and really shows how this game is, at the very least, made by a very different type of studio.

OP

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3d

This is understandable. They definitely make different games to what they used to. Like I said in my og post very few of the old devs are still at BioWare.

I did, however, really like Inquisition for what it was. I also liked Andromeda.

I don't think it's impossible for BioWare to make something of a BG4 if EA got off their backs a little and they were given more freedom.

Ultimately on that side of things I think EA is the problem, not BioWare. Publishers usually ARE the problem, there's a reason why Larian were so desperate to make DOS1&2 independantly through kickstarter than relying on a corporate overlord.

BUT! Regardless. I see your points, BioWare in its current state would be a hard pill to swollow.

1

3d

We are mostly in agreement and I appreciate your answer.

I do agree it wouldn't be impossible, but I personally wouldn't want anyone but Larian to actually do it. But that's not happening - so fingers crossed that the industry actually learns and changes a little.

1

3d

Bethesda. After BG3 it can only be worse, so might as well go all the way.

OP

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3d

Fucking LOL! Why not, eh?

BG3 is buggy, so let's make BG4 MOOOOOOOORE BUGGY!!!!!!!!!

-2

3d

Rockstar Games

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