Everything we know about Baldur's Gate 3 DLC
Will BG3 have downloadable content and expansions? Probably not...
Baldur's Gate 3 DLC and content expansions are something that people have been waiting for practically since BG3 came out - but right now it doesn't seem particularly likely that we'll see it any time soon, and probably not at all. Recent comments by developer Larian have made it clear that DLC isn't something they plan to do, though that doesn't mean it can't happen, or that Baldur's Gate 3 won't be getting updates in the future. With that in mind, below I'll summarise everything we know so far about potential DLC for Baldur's Gate 3 - and why you probably shouldn't get your hopes up.
Everything revealed so far about Baldur's Gate 3 DLC
Regarding Baldur's Gate 3 DLC and expansions, right now here's a quick summary of the details:
- Larian CEO Swen Vincke has said that "We'll forever be proud of (Baldur's Gate 3) but we're not going to continue in it. We're not going to make new expansions which everybody is expecting. We're not going to make Baldur's Gate 4 which everybody is expecting us to do. We're going to move on. We're going to move away from D&D and we're going to start making a new thing." (March 2024)
- It's still theoretically possible that Wizards of the Coast - the parent company that apparently owns Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur's Gate 3 - could still try to create downloadable expansions, but Larian will not be involved.
- Despite no DLC plans, patches and updates for BG3 are still planned for the future.
Is Baldur's Gate 3 going to have DLC?
At time of writing, it seems very unlikely that Baldur's Gate 3 will have DLC expansions, despite the massive critical and commercial success of the base game. As mentioned above, Larian has decided that it will not be making any downloadable content for BG3, with CEO Vincke saying that "We are not a company that's made to create DLCs or expansions. We tried that actually, a few times. It failed every single time. It's not our thing. Life is too short. Our ambitions are very large."
The only slim ray of hope for those who want DLC for Baldur's Gate 3 is that Larian don't own the rights to the game, at least by our current understanding. Those rights belong to Wizards of the Coast, the company that also owns the Dungeons & Dragons brand. So even if Larian decides that it would prefer not to make DLC for BG3, it's possible - though there's currently no evidence for it - that Wizards of the Coast could hire a different studio to create downloadable expansions.
But as mentioned, it doesn't mean the end of BG3 necessarily. Larian's Director of Publishing has confirmed future updates for Baldur's Gate 3, and past updates have been a lot more substantial than simple bug fixes, ranging from adding a new ending to developing romances or providing alternate paths.
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.