Baldur’s Gate 3 is an enormously successful video game: The game, based on the Pen & Paper Dungeons & Dragons, roared through the Steam charts. On the occasion of the PS5 release, MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus has the license holder Wizards of the Coast asked about what impact success has on the franchise.
Baldur’s Gate 3 recently celebrated its release on the PS5. The role-playing game had previously sold incredibly well on the PC.
MeinMMO: Baldur’s Gate 3 is an enormous success with around a million players on PC alone. How does it feel to see a franchise rise to such heights in the video game medium?
Wizards of the Coast: It’s fantastic to see Larian’s stories and roleplaying games appeal to so many, including critics, fans, and D&D players around the world. We knew they were the perfect partner to bring D&D into the modern video game age with this incredibly successful game.
Wizards eagerly anticipated the console release of Baldur’s Gate 3 in early September and looks forward to a bright future for the franchise in additional video games. We are very pleased with the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC. Congratulations to the Larian team for already making it a hit and a contender for Game of the Year!
Building on the success of 2.5 million units sold in Early Access, they have seen nearly 1 million concurrent players on Steam and many more millions of units sold since the official PC launch on August 3rd.
MyMMO: How was the communication between Wizards of the Coast, the owner of the IP, and Larian Studios?
Wizards of the Coast: As with any creative project, you need to find partners who will work hard to create new experiences that not only delight and surprise fans of the brand, but also appeal to new fans. Larian was agreed to work on Baldur’s Gate 3, and after the success they had with the Divinity series, we knew they had mastered the RPG genre and the game would be in good hands. Their love of D&D and craftsmanship shine through in every moment of the game.
MyMMO: Compared to less successful games with Wizards IPs in the past, like Magic: Legends or Dark Alliance, what were the main differences here?
Wizards of the Coast: We have a long history of digital games, from recent examples like Baldur’s Gate 3 to Magic the Gathering Arena and Monopoly Go! on mobile to Pools of Radiance and the other early Gold Box games. Some of the best expressions of D&D are video games – but sometimes they just don’t quite fit.
It’s difficult to highlight a specific choice or feature when you have such a broad portfolio, and we’re constantly learning and trying to provide the best video gaming experience possible.
The care and effort that Larian has put into Baldur’s Gate 3, from its inception in the late 2010s through three years of Early Access to its release here in 2023, has been key to making it truly join the ranks classic C-RPGs of all time.
MeinMMO: Regarding the recent anger surrounding D&D’s open license: What has changed on the subject after Baldur’s Gate 3?
Wizards of the Coast: Larian’s work on Baldur’s Gate 3 is not affected, as there was already a licensing agreement between them and Wizards. We support all tabletop game developers, and that’s why we’ve decided to put the D&D rules under a Creative Commons license so everyone can use them however they want!
MeinMMO: What new ideas can we expect in the future around D&D, especially in relation to video games?
Wizards of the Coast: While it’s gratifying to see Baldur’s Gate 3 receive all of its well-deserved accolades, we’re incredibly excited to see the D&D IP find expression in all manner of video game genres. There are so many opportunities to explore the world of D&D and find an audience among players after BG3 and the film D&D: Honor Among Thieves opened the doors wide.
From films, series, cookbooks and Minecraft DLCs
MyMMO: D&D has seen a resurgence in pop culture and society at large, thanks in part to things like Critical Role, Stranger Things, and the new D&D movie. What plans are there for the future of the franchise in other media?
Wizards of the Coast: We’re glad that so many people are excited about using D&D as a framework for fantasy stories. There are a lot of projects we’re working on that bring different aspects of D&D to life.
For example, there are films and television shows that we would like to develop again as soon as Hollywood productions start again. More information on some of these shows from authors such as Rawson Marshall Thurber will follow. Minecraft will soon have an exciting DLC based on a D&D story for multiple platforms.
On the publishing side, the latest D&D cookbook, Heroes Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse, will grace your tables with the most amazing dishes you can cook at this level based on the IP. And if you enjoy watching people cook, the Heroes Feast show, airing on the D&D Adventures FAST channel, will bring some of these recipes to life in a D&D version of a cooking television show.
About a year ago, Wizards of the Coast announced One D&D, a new game system that would replace the current D&D 5th Edition. Here is the announcement trailer:
MeinMMO: What’s next for D&D as a whole?
Wizards of the Coast: It’s hard to believe, but Dungeons & Dragons is celebrating its golden anniversary in 2024. That’s right, D&D is turning 50!
Wizards will use the year to celebrate the cultural impact this game has had on consciousness – from the concept of “hit points” and “stages” found in almost every game on the market to a refresher the rules that made the game such a success.
The 2024 Rules Update’s overhaul of the Player’s, Monster, and Game Master’s Handbooks is accompanied by an adventure story that pays homage to the game’s entire history and its beloved locations. Wizards is also working with a variety of other brands in 2024 to bring the IP to an even larger audience as part of D&D’s 50th anniversary celebration.
We can’t reveal everything yet, but D&D fans should know that the future is so bright that you need to wear sunglasses!
Thank you to Wizards of the Coast for answering our questions!
Do you have anything else you always wanted to know about Wizards of the Coast? Write them to us in the comments.
And if you’re interested in even more Dungeons & Dragons content, take a look at Ready to Roll! The eight-episode first season is a collaboration with our colleagues at GameStar Talk and you can see MeinMMO editor Sophia playing D&D. Here is the first episode.