Exclusive: Baldur's Gate 3 Boss Reveals Exciting Future Plans Amid Microsoft Acquisition Buzz

Highlights

Larian Studios CEO dismisses the possibility of selling the company despite Microsoft's interest, citing his desire to continue making games and not wanting to give up control.

Larian's current priority is completing the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Baldur's Gate 3 before planning their next project, which may be a smaller-scale game to avoid another lengthy development cycle. Despite facing technical challenges, Baldur's Gate 3 is striving for seamless co-op gameplay on the Xbox Series S, causing a delay in its release date, while the PS5 version is scheduled to launch on September 6.

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has shared the company's future plans after the release of Baldur's Gate 3 and discussed the potential acquisition by Microsoft. These insights were provided during the release of the PC version of Baldur's Gate 3, which is now available for download in the Western market.

During Microsoft's legal battle with the FTC, it was revealed that the tech giant had a list of potential acquisition targets. The document, disclosed in late June during a federal hearing, mentioned Larian Studios as one of these targets. Microsoft's interest in Larian Studios stems from the developer's dedicated fanbase and consistent success in creating critically acclaimed RPGs, among other factors.

Vincke regarded Microsoft's leaked interest as "flattering," but he dismissed the possibility of selling the company, which he and his wife have controlled as majority shareholders since its inception in 1996. Speaking to Bloomberg, the executive stated that, despite aging, he is still determined to continue making games and therefore, he has no intention of considering any offers at this time.

Vincke mentioned that Larian has not yet decided on its next project, as the focus is currently on completing the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports of Baldur's Gate 3. Once these versions are released, the developer may choose to work on a smaller-scale game, as Vincke expressed his reluctance to dedicate another six years to a single project. Additionally, Larian may undertake multiple smaller projects simultaneously after Baldur's Gate 3 launches on all target platforms.

Although Baldur's Gate 3 falls within Larian's traditional role-playing game genre, it also aims to achieve something unprecedented for RPGs of its size - seamless co-op on the Xbox Series S. The studio faced technical challenges in realizing this ambition, which is why the release date for the Xbox version has yet to be announced.

Baldur's Gate 3 is currently available on PC and will be released on PS5 on September 6. The PC version was initially set to launch on August 31, but Larian changed their release plans. They made the decision to move the PC launch forward by almost a month to avoid overlapping with Starfield, which will have its early access period beginning on September 1. It is worth mentioning that an Xbox Series X/S port of Baldur's Gate 3 is also in the works.

Source: Bloomberg