“There was not a lot to choose from”: Larian Boss Considered Working On the Fallout Series Before Finally Settling With Baldur’s Gate

SUMMARY

• Larian Studios would have made a Fallout installment if the company didn't get the license of Baldur's Gate 3.
• After Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian developers completely exhausted themselves and they didn't have anything to pitch to Wizards of the Coast.
• Larian was so desperate about Baldur's Gate 3 because it wanted to bank on the success of D: OS 2.

It’s difficult to exaggerate the size of Baldur’s Gate 3. Due to its exceptional Divinity: Original Sin games, Larian was already a reputable firm; it became RPG royalty, a huge sales smash, and the recipient of all the accolades. However, that wasn’t the whole plan from the very beginning.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was released in 2023. | Credit: Larian Studios.

Larian CEO Swen Vincke recently revealed he had lofty goals for the studio and that he believed only three titles could achieve them. Surprisingly, one of those three titles was Fallout. And it’s pretty safe to say that no one could have guessed this.

Larian Studios would have made Fallout if it wasn’t Baldur’s Gate 3

We would have got Fallout from a different development studio. | Credit: Bethesda.

Vincke had already signed a contract with Wizards of the Coast to produce Baldur’s Gate 3 by August 2017, but his team was at a loss when it came time to submit a concept document to the publisher.

They had poured all of their creative energy into the last stages of Divinity: Original Sin 2‘s creation. However, the developers outdid themselves and surfaced one of the greatest games of this generation, Baldur’s Gate 3. Although, Vincke had other ideas in his mind (via EDGE):

The idea of a Larian-led Fallout is intriguing, even with Baldur’s Gate 3‘s quality, particularly if it were done in the vein of the Interplay games. But fans are highly doubtful if a Fallout title could ever build the legacy of Larian the way BG3 did.

Devoted RPG enthusiasts hold the Divinity titles in high regard, they lack the brand recognition of Baldur’s Gate and, more generally, Dungeons & Dragons. Vincke believed that Larian would benefit from acquiring the rights to operate on such a well-established property on a number of levels.

Why was Swen Vincke so desperate to make Baldur’s Gate 3?

Divinity: Original Sin 2 was a turning point for Swen Vincke and his studio. | Credit: Larian Studios

Now you might wonder why Larian was pushing so hard to secure an ancient IP like Baldu’s Gate. Divinity: Original Sin 2 already made Larian a recognizable name but Vincke wanted to capitalize on that growth, and for that, hitting with a superior AAA title was needed.

That is why he decided he would need an outside property to maintain the momentum created by D: OS 2. He stated Baldur’s Gate was one of those IPs on which people would want to work as it would be great for attracting other people to the studio. He said (via EDGE):

Larian evidently had Baldur’s Gate as his first pick. According to Vincke, Larian’s first project, The Lady, The Mage, and The Knight, was eventually canceled, but it was being produced at the same time as the first Baldur’s Gate.

Vincke also discussed Larian’s near-miss with the Baldur’s Gate license. While finishing Divinity: Original Sin 2, the company had to create a design document for the game. They banged something out, and as Vincke puts it, “It was really bad.”

It would have been worse if Larian didn’t get that license!

Written by Nilendu Brahma

Articles Published: 579

A Marvel, Linkin Park, Cricket, and Barcelona fan who just wants to write and write about video games and stuff. If you want to meet me, you can find me in my room failing to hit the opposite Jett with the operator for six consecutive rounds.