Larian’s Next RPG After Baldur’s Gate 3: The Next Step in a 20-Year Journey

Larian Studios has spent more than two decades climbing from a small, scrappy developer to one of the most influential names in modern role-playing games. With Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3, the studio set a new standard for turn-based CRPGs, blending deep systemic gameplay with cinematic storytelling. Now, Larian’s next fantasy RPG aims to be a natural evolution of everything it has learned along the way, treating its past hits as a blueprint rather than a cage.

This article explores how Larian’s design philosophy has evolved, what lessons the team is carrying forward from its recent successes, and why its next game is poised to push narrative and systemic freedom even further. While details remain limited, developer interviews and public statements give a clear picture of the direction the studio is taking.

A Studio Built on Iteration, Not Reinvention

Larian’s history shows a steady process of refining the same core idea: a reactive role-playing sandbox where player choice can genuinely disrupt the story and game world. From early Divinity titles through Original Sin and finally Baldur’s Gate 3, the studio has repeatedly revisited and improved on systems rather than discarding them.

Instead of pivoting to live-service models or chasing trends, Larian has doubled down on a few pillars:

• Turn-based tactical combat with clear rules and strong feedback.
• Highly interactive environments that encourage playful experimentation.
• Rich narrative reactivity, where unusual solutions are recognized and rewarded.
• Co-op support that allows multiple players to shape the story together.

These pillars form the foundation of the studio’s next RPG. The project is not a hard reboot of Larian’s design philosophy but a layering of new ideas on top of a system that has already proven it can support surprising player stories at scale.

From Original Sin 2 to Baldur’s Gate 3: Two Pillars of a Blueprint

Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 share a common DNA but emphasize different strengths. Together, they serve as the clearest expression of what Larian wants its RPGs to be—and where it still sees room to grow.

What Divinity: Original Sin 2 Perfected

Released in 2017, Divinity: Original Sin 2 became a surprise hit, praised for its tactical depth and systemic creativity. It made turn-based CRPGs newly fashionable and showed that a complex, isometric RPG could still reach a large audience.

Key strengths that continue to influence Larian’s future design include:

• Elemental combat systems: Surfaces like fire, poison, and electricity interact in predictable but flexible ways, encouraging experimentation.
• Four-player co-op: Players can share or clash over goals, split up entirely, and pursue different storylines in parallel.
• Origin characters: Party members with their own bespoke backstories and narrative arcs, which can also be chosen by the player as a main character.
• Freedom of approach: Many quests allow unconventional solutions, from teleporting past obstacles to using environmental trickery.

These systems are not just combat toys; they shape narrative possibilities. The ability to teleport an NPC off a balcony or sneak through vents becomes part of how players “talk” to the game world.

What Baldur’s Gate 3 Brought to the Table

Baldur’s Gate 3 built on these foundations but shifted emphasis toward cinematic storytelling and faithful adaptation of the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. It proved that systemic depth and high-end presentation can coexist in a turn-based RPG.

Its major contributions include:

• Cinematic dialogue and performance capture: Fully voiced interactions and expressive character animations draw players deeper into the story.
• Dice-based drama: Skill checks and saving throws become visible, tense moments, directly tying narrative outcomes to game systems.
• Dense narrative reactivity: Choices as small as how you enter a room can meaningfully change scenes, alliances, and entire quest outcomes.
• Player-driven pacing: The game supports both focused main quest sprints and sprawling side-exploration without losing narrative coherence.

By combining these qualities with a well-known tabletop brand, Larian reached an audience far beyond traditional CRPG fans, demonstrating there is appetite for large, complex single-player experiences even in a market dominated by live-service games. Market analysis from firms like Newzoo has highlighted the ongoing strength of premium single-player titles despite a competitive landscape.¹

Why Larian’s Next RPG Isn’t Just “Baldur’s Gate 3 Again”

With Baldur’s Gate 3 winning major game-of-the-year awards and earning critical acclaim from outlets across the industry, Larian could easily have decided to repeat the formula. Instead, public comments from leadership indicate a desire to push beyond the constraints of adapting an existing tabletop ruleset and licensed universe.

Returning to its own IP allows Larian to adjust systems, pacing, and worldbuilding without needing to stay within D&D canon. This freedom is particularly important for a studio that has always treated its rules as tools for storytelling rather than sacred texts.

Freedom from Licensed Constraints

Working with a license like Dungeons & Dragons carries both benefits and limitations:

• Pros: Brand recognition, built-in lore, a tested rules framework, and an existing fanbase.
• Cons: Canon restrictions, mechanical expectations, and less room to radically adjust or discard systems.

Moving back to a Divinity-adjacent universe means Larian can freely redesign progression systems, combat frameworks, and narrative structures to better serve its evolving goals. The studio no longer has to justify every feature against a tabletop equivalent; it can invent mechanics purely because they make for better digital storytelling.

Carrying the Right Lessons Forward

Larian’s next RPG is not a rejection of Baldur’s Gate 3, but a consolidation of lessons:

• Cinematic presentation and strong performances dramatically increase emotional impact.
• Visible, rules-driven outcomes (such as dice rolls) help players understand and trust the game’s logic.
• Players respond strongly to meaningful consequences, even if it means losing access to certain content.
• Early access, when handled carefully, can guide design and improve quality without fully dictating vision.

These insights are shaping the new project, which aims to blend the dense systems of Original Sin 2 with the cinematic storytelling weight of Baldur’s Gate 3, but within a ruleset tuned from the ground up for video game play rather than tabletop emulation.

Systemic Storytelling: The Heart of the Next Evolution

Perhaps the clearest throughline in Larian’s work is its commitment to systemic storytelling—the idea that gameplay systems and narrative structure should be tightly intertwined. Rather than treating story and mechanics as separate layers, the studio builds worlds where physics, spells, and dialogue all feed into the same reactive framework.

From Rules to Stories

In many RPGs, complex mechanics serve mainly to resolve combat encounters. Larian’s games push further, letting those same mechanics intrude into conversations, stealth, theft, exploration, and even romance. The next project is expected to advance this philosophy by:

• Making non-combat skills as impactful and expressive as damage-focused abilities.
• Allowing social or stealth-focused characters to navigate entire questlines differently.
• Increasing the number of story branches that react to creative uses of the environment.
• Reducing hard gating that forces combat when players have clearly found a clever alternative.

This approach aligns with broader trends in narrative design, where emergent gameplay is increasingly seen as a key differentiator for immersive titles.²

Scaling Reactivity Without Losing Control

Delivering this level of reactivity is technically complex. Larian’s prior games relied on extensive scripting and testing to keep the experience coherent. For the next RPG, the studio is likely refining toolsets that help designers track consequences, manage branching content, and ensure that wild player behavior doesn’t break the narrative beyond repair.

Developers across the industry are investing in more sophisticated internal tools for quest design, branching dialogue, and game state management, as discussed in technical talks at events like the Game Developers Conference (GDC).³ Larian’s scale and ambitions make such tooling essential, especially when every object in the world can be picked up, burned, stolen, or thrown into a void.

Early Access as a Design Partnership

Both Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur’s Gate 3 benefited from extended early-access periods, where player feedback helped refine balance, interface, and quest logic. Larian has openly described this approach as vital to its process, but it also acknowledges the risks of player fatigue and perception issues if early access drags on too long.

Shorter Cycles, Sharper Feedback

Public statements from the studio have suggested a desire to keep development cycles healthier—targeting a time frame closer to three or four years rather than stretching to six or more where possible. Industry analyses of game development have repeatedly highlighted long, crunch-driven cycles as major contributors to burnout and production issues.⁴

For the next RPG, early access is likely to remain part of the plan, but:

• The initial scope may be more tightly curated to gather specific types of feedback.
• Core systems should be more mature at the start, preventing drastic redesigns mid-way.
• Communication around the roadmap will be crucial to managing expectations.

Instead of treating early access as a broad testbed for half-finished ideas, Larian seems intent on using it to fine-tune a vision that is already structurally complete.

Technology, Tools, and the Role of AI

High-end RPGs are increasingly complex, with sprawling scripts, thousands of lines of dialogue, and massive art requirements. To keep pace without compromising quality, studios like Larian are investing in better tools and workflows, including cautious use of generative AI on the development side.

AI as a Production Aid, Not a Storyteller

Public reports have indicated that Larian is experimenting with generative AI to create temporary text, rough concept art, and internal documentation—not to generate final in-game content. This distinction is important amid growing industry and regulatory scrutiny around AI use in creative fields.⁵

Key points in this approach include:

• Placeholder use only: AI-generated material serves as a starting point for human iteration, not as a final asset.
• Protecting narrative voice: Writers remain responsible for character arcs, themes, and final dialogue.
• Efficiency, not replacement: The goal is to free human developers from repetitive, low-value tasks so they can focus on high-impact creative work.

This reflects a broader industry trend toward using AI as a tool in pipelines rather than as a replacement for designers, artists, and writers, aligning with discussions from organizations like the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).⁶

Engine and Presentation Improvements

Baldur’s Gate 3 already demonstrated Larian’s capability to deliver cinematic performances, detailed environments, and complex physics interactions. The next project will likely focus on:

• Improved facial animation and body language for more nuanced character interactions.
• Better camera tools to support both intimate dialogue scenes and chaotic combat.
• Performance and scalability improvements for large encounters and co-op sessions.

While no specific engine overhaul has been publicly detailed, it is reasonable to expect incremental upgrades rather than a total rebuild, as large engine transitions can significantly slow development.

Design Priorities: What Players Can Likely Expect

Larian has not yet fully unveiled its next RPG, but based on prior games and the studio’s stated philosophy, several design priorities seem likely.

What This Means for the Future of CRPGs

Larian’s trajectory matters not just for its own fans but for the wider RPG genre. The success of Original Sin 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 has already influenced other studios to pursue turn-based, choice-driven RPGs with richer systems and higher presentation values.

If the next game successfully merges Larian’s systemic roots with its newer cinematic ambitions, it could further normalize the idea that big-budget RPGs do not have to sacrifice player agency in favor of spectacle. Instead, the two can reinforce each other: sharp writing, strong performances, and flexible systems combining to create stories that feel uniquely tailored to each playthrough.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Larian’s next RPG still be turn-based?

Based on the studio’s long-standing commitment to turn-based combat and public comments indicating that its next major fantasy project follows in the footsteps of Divinity and Baldur’s Gate 3, it is highly likely the next RPG will remain turn-based. The format underpins many of Larian’s systemic designs and supports both tactical depth and readable outcomes.

Is the new game a direct sequel to Divinity: Original Sin 2?

Larian has expressed interest in returning to the Divinity universe, but it has also emphasized that any new project is an evolution rather than a simple sequel. Players can reasonably expect strong thematic and mechanical continuity, even if the specific story and cast are new.

Will early access be part of the launch strategy?

Early access has proven valuable for refining previous Larian games, and the studio has indicated it intends to continue using the model. However, it also aims for healthier development timelines and more focused testing periods, so early access may be shorter and more targeted than earlier efforts.

How is Larian handling AI in development?

Public reporting suggests that Larian views generative AI as a development aid—useful for placeholder content and internal processes—rather than as a source of final in-game writing or art. Human developers remain responsible for the finished narrative and visual identity of the world.

Will co-op still be a major focus?

Cooperative play has been a defining feature of Larian’s recent RPGs, and there is little indication the studio intends to abandon it. Instead, expect refinements that make it easier for friends with different playstyles and schedules to experience the story together without constantly dragging one another into or out of scenes.