Baldur's Gate 3 devs had to overcome "incredible pressure" when starting its "very ambitious" new RPG: "If we can't follow our gut," then "it's going to be a disaster"

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke admits the team felt "incredible pressure" to match the success of Baldur's Gate 3 on its next RPG at one point, though thankfully "we're past that phase now." 

Speaking to 12DOVE following his keynote at the Digital Dragons conference, Vincke touches on the weight of success and how they've already managed to move past it so that they may continue to work on new RPGs unencumbered. 

"It certainly did in the beginning," Vincke says when asked if Baldur's Gate 3's success has put pressure on the team regarding new projects. "But I think we're past that phase now. There was this moment where we felt incredible pressure and then I said, 'Guys, just forget about all of it. Right? We're just going to make a game again. And we'll focus on that.' 

"And obviously, it's very ambitious. But if we can't follow our gut instinct because we're struggling to deal with external pressures or what people are going to expect, we're never going to make it; it's going to be a disaster. So we have to focus on making something that we want to play. And if it's that, then we'll be fine."

Prior to our interview, Vincke shared during a talk that, at one point, he said Baldur's Gate 3 could be the "RPG of the decade" while presenting the studio's vision to IP holders Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. Given the awards the game has won, the claim seems fair now, though Vincke still immediately regretted the comment back then as he was soon to find out just how much trouble Larian would run into trying to get the game made. 

"RPG of the decade" or not, though, Larian isn't letting the success distract from what's next.

The director of Baldur's Gate 3 isn't giving advice to whoever makes Baldur's Gate 4, but he did say one thing: "They have to do their own thing."