Over two weeks, a mysterious demonic monolith in the Mojave Desert was the video game community's greatest enigma. Theories reached a fever pitch when an industry producer posted an image of the strange statue, implying it was a teaser for an upcoming game unveiling. Online communities went into overdrive to decipher the mystery. Was it new content for a popular franchise? The next chapter in an iconic saga?
At the same time, the creative minds at Larian Studios were amusedly discussing every far-fetched theory among themselves. They alone knew the answer: it was a teaser for their upcoming game. Their private discussions served as the only place they could talk about it, sworn by a strict oath of secrecy. Their dedication to silence was so complete that they even became swept up in the speculative frenzy.
"I remember I saw people guess that it was *Bloodborne 2*," said the game's writing director, "And I was like ‘Oh, I wish it is!’ And then I realized: ‘No, it certainly is not!’"
The mysterious monument provided a perfect shared mystery, but it also raised a important question: "Is it possible to ultimately let down people if you generate excitement?" This concern is one Larian Studios is about to grapple with as their next RPG approaches. Touted as the studio's "biggest and boldest" title so far, the RPG can expect a lot more eyes following the award-winning success of their last project, the critically adored *Baldur's Gate 3*.
A Homecoming
"I think the key point is that we have no desire to disappoint fans," said Larian founder Swen Vincke, addressing concerns over alienating new fans anticipating a direct sequel. "We are confident that the main draw they played *Baldur's Gate 3* was the core mechanics. That is our proven method, and it has its origins in the *Divinity* series. *Divinity* is essentially heading back to the origins of it."
Larian pulled out all the stops to get *Baldur's Gate 3* fans excited for *Divinity*. The game's reveal trailer flaunted blockbuster polish, depicting a disturbing scene reminiscent of certain cult films. The teaser featured graphic imagery, created in part on a team member. It was a confident reveal, showing the studio's confidence in its next project.
However, a new *Divinity* was not originally the plan. Although the studio intended to return to its flagship CRPG series eventually, they originally wanted to creating a successor to *Baldur's Gate 3* with a project more familiar to that setting. *Divinity* has been in active development for about a couple of years following a major change in direction.
"We were working on a new game based in the world of D&D, built on the *Baldur's Gate 3* engine," said Vincke. "We planned to work gradually on *Divinity* afterward. But we realized that our passion lay elsewhere. We were essentially done with *Baldur's Gate 3*, so doing another didn't appeal. So we stopped that project. That decision fast-tracked everything for *Divinity*, which left us in a position where we had to begin anew."
Solidifying the Universe
Revisiting *Divinity* after nearly a decade posed a considerable challenge. The team learned immense experience developing *Baldur's Gate 3*, which Vincke calls the *Divinity* series at a more "refined level." Now, he claims that the new *Divinity* will be an still more evolved version of its predecessor. To pull that off, Larian needed to begin by overhauling the world's foundation.
"One of the first things we did was start to build a unified universe, because the *Divinity* lore was in the past all over the place," Vincke said. "It was necessary to re-establish it, a process we learned from our work with D&D. Concurrently, we were building a new engine, so we adapted our plans to implement it earlier. That process naturally was not as smoothly as hoped, so we're now nearing the end of a challenging technical overhaul."
Vincke clarified that *Divinity* will be a tactical RPG playable solo or in co-op multiplayer. It is also a standalone title, despite being set after the events of previous games. Longtime fans will spot some familiar characters, but experience with the older games will not be necessary. The stated goal is to create a "believable world where extraordinary things occur because of the choices you make."
Giving Players the Reins
This last point is crucial. When questioned what Larian views as the most important element to perfect in *Divinity*, Vincke gave a succinct answer: agency. Larian's mission is to craft a deeper RPG featuring compelling "video game systems." This focus on meaningful choice was a key ingredient of *Baldur's Gate 3*'s success, and the studio claims it is expanding that design principle to new heights here.
"One of our philosophy is 'create your own story.' So the freedom we want to give you is the boldest part," Vincke explained. "We are implementing systems in there that will have you wondering, 'Really? It reacts? But all I did was one small action!' We aren't going to tell these possibilities themselves. When we, during testing realized we could connect these choices, it gave me great joy. It excited my inner player, and that's the sensation I want players to have when the game releases."
Beyond the deepened focus on player agency, the production of *Baldur's Gate 3* has been instrumental to *Divinity*'s progress. The studio explicitly highlights that it gained valuable knowledge in narrative design and creating in-game story moments from that project, which will be a key element of the new game.
A Collaborative Development Philosophy
The team also analyzed the struggles they faced during the development of *Baldur's Gate 3*. Vincke points out that onboarding could be challenging in that game due to complex class rules. To make *Divinity* more user-friendly from the start, Larian decided to "define our own game systems so we could make it more video game friendly."
"One clear instance was reactive mechanics in *Baldur's Gate 3*," Vincke recalled. "Initially, we didn't want to include them. Midway through early access, the community strongly requested them. We worried it would slow down the gameplay. Eventually, we implemented them in and saw, well, it's actually better. They had a point! It was a good moment because it undeniably made the game better."
Based on this experience, Larian's community will be crucial to *Divinity*'s development. Vincke stated that the studio will keep taking into account fan feedback
