“Let’s not mince words, we have the money to do it. So we’re applying the budget that a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 really needs.”
After their impressive showing at PAX, Eurogamer took the time to interview David Walgrave from Larian Studios with a series of very enlightening questions. I’d recommend giving it a read if you are interested in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you are familiar with Larian at all, you probably know that they are amongst one of the most successful indie developers out there, and this title like the rest will be self-published. When questioned about the impressive visuals of the project, Walgraves did not hesitate in saying that Baldur’s Gate 3 is being developed with a triple-A budget.
Walgraves said, “Yes. I think, for instance, what you’ve seen, with the lip-synching and the cinematics, the motion capturing that we’re doing – I think you’re still seeing it in “raw” form. But we do know what it can be […] So, if you see that – and if you see all the technical stuff that has gone into our engine – I would call it a triple-A game. It has a triple-A budget, has a triple-A team by now, and I think that is our aspiration.”
For the people worried that Larian might be selling out, worry not. They are still completely independent. The money is coming from their hard-earned, and well deserved, money from their older projects. They say the only ground they had to answer to is Wizards of the Coast for their ownership of Dungeons & Dragons, which Baldur’s Gate is based in.
Walgraves also added, “We wanted to blow people away by using the money that we did have very smartly. And now we do have the budget, we’re going to try and maximize the use of that again.”
It really does sound like a dream come true for Larian, and I can’t wait to see what they can produce on a triple-A budget. One of the largest benefits we are already seeing is their ability to team up with other studios.
Source: Eurogamer