Divinity Developers Experience Increased Pressure Following Baldur’s Gate 3’s Success

Baldur’s Gate 3 has shattered expectations, racking up 20 million sales and snagging multiple Game of the Year accolades. While this success bodes well for Larian’s future, it also brings a wave of pressure as the studio shifts its focus to the next installment in the Divinity series. “It’s more pressure,” Larian founder Swen Vincke shared. “The weight of the expectations weighs high. We’re trying not to think about it, because we have to make our own thing.” Vincke noted that the team initially thought developing Divinity would be smoother thanks to their experience with Baldur’s Gate 3. However, reality proved otherwise. “When we started on this, it was like, ‘Oh, we know how to do this,'” he reflected. “By now, we’ve been humbled by the development experience: No, we don’t know anything. We have to relearn everything, but we do have the experience of the past with us. Every game has its own language that you need to learn.”

Vincke faced some backlash for mentioning that Larian incorporates generative AI in its development process. He clarified that AI is not intended to replace human artists but is used to “explore things,” enabling artists to “experiment” and “make their lives easier.” He assured fans that there will be no generative-AI-created content in Divinity. As for the release strategy, Vincke hinted that Divinity might follow a similar early-access model as Baldur’s Gate 3, though he stopped short of making any firm commitments, and the game currently lacks a release date.