Despite the success and critical acclaim of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios has no plans to release any DLC or expansions for the game.
The surprising and disappointing news was confirmed by Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke at a Game Developers Conference (GDC) panel today.
Perhaps more shockingly, there will not be a Baldur's Gate 4 as Larian plans to move away from Dungeons & Dragons entirely. While we don't know what the developer will work on next, Vincke confirmed the studio wants to do something new.
Larian has already released several major updates to Baldur's Gate 3, as well as a playable epilogue party. But many fans were hoping that the 2023 Game of the Year would receive more substantial content in the form paid DLC or a larger expansion. Unfortunately, neither of those seem to be in the cards.
Baldur's Gate 3 was released in late 2023 to universal critical acclaim. It sits at a near-perfect 96/100 on review aggregator Metacritic with an equally impressive 8.9 User Score (based on 15,000 user reviews).
The game has received praise for its quality of writing, which includes intertwined storylines that enable alternate story moments and a large degree of player freedom. The characters, particularly the companions, were also praised as interesting and memorable. The production quality, including voice acting, character animations and detailed environments, was also top-notch. All of this combined helped Baldur's Gate 3 win several Game of the Year awards, including from the Golden Joystick Awards, The Game Awards, and the D.I.C.E. Awards.
Gather your party and return to the Forgotten Realms in a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Mysterious abilities are awakening inside you, drawn from a mind flayer parasite planted in your brain. Resist, and turn darkness against itself. Or embrace corruption, and become ultimate evil.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.
Baldur's Gate 3 is the third main installment in the franchise, which is based on the tabletop fantasy role-playing system of Dungeons & Dragons. However, the first two games were developed by BioWare. Prior to Baldur's Gate 3, Larian was best known for developing the Divinity series.
While we don't know what's next for Larian, it's possible it could be another Divinity game. In a previous interview with IGN, Vincke had stated that a Divinity: Original Sin sequel was "definitely" on the horizon.
As for the future of the Baldur's Gate franchise, it's possible that Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, could look for a new developer to take on the series. Given that Hasbro made $90 million of Baldur's Gate 3, the company will likely want to continue to pump out games.