The heads of Larian Studios do not want to make a sequel or expansion for Baldur’s Gate 3. For Josh Sawyer from Obsidian Entertainment, there seems to be a clear reason for the separation that has so far been overlooked.
Who is Josh Sawyer? The American developer has been in the industry for several decades and works at Obsidian Entertainment. His resume includes various RPG classics like Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Pentiment, and the two parts of Pillars of Eternity.
What does the Obsidian veteran say? On X, Josh Sawyer linked to an article from IGN discussing the announcement from Larian CEO Swen Vincke that they do not want to make a sequel or expansion for Baldur’s Gate 3.
His comment on this news: “Yes, I wouldn’t want to work with Hasbro anymore either. Big praise.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a special unicorn, but not a coincidence:
What is the problem with Hasbro? The American toy manufacturer has owned the collectible card and role-playing game manufacturer Wizards of the Coast since 1999 – and thus also brands like Magic and Dungeons & Dragons.
For the use of the D&D license for Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian had to pay fees to Hasbro. According to the financial report from February 2024 and the associated investor call, those were smooth 90 million US dollars. 90 million US dollars that Larian could have kept by using their own brand.
However, Larian has of course deliberately entered into the corresponding licensing agreement with Hasbro. Swen Vincke and his team might have viewed the layoffs from December 2023 more critically. Despite reports of record quarters in October, numerous members of the D&D and Magic teams had to take their leave.
Larian boss Swen Vincke later stated that from the original team of D&D experts who were present at the first meetings, no one is still working at Wizards of the Coast. What the sympathetic Belgian thinks of such actions has already been made clear multiple times – for example, here:
