Larian, the developer behind hit role-player Baldur’s Gate 3, has said it will likely follow the same early access release model in support of its unannounced next project.
In an interview alongside GameFile, Larian’s director of publishing Michael Douse said early access was “the only way to do it now” to ensure the project grows with and in response to player feedback.
“This is the only way to carry out it now, especially if you consider the fact that the whole point of this stuff is to create social resonance, to create a situation where you have a constant dialogue alongside the players,” Douse said.
“Our next – whatever the next thing will be – will also probably be in early access,” he continued. “That way you remove a lot of the prediction, too. When you release a game in AAA, whatever method, [if] you don’t have early access, you’re taking a large bet on the fact that this is great and people like it. In early access, you find out very quickly. It helps you steer the big ship.”
But launching in early access isn’t without its risks, Douse continued – and isn’t in support of everyone.
“It’s scary,” he said. “It turns your company sort of into a live service company, because you’ve got to feed that machine. But we were very open about nay doing that. [We said:] ‘We’re no going to add story. Don’t expect that. We didn’t really add merry. We added some, but we really slowed down. Setting expectations is really key. It’s just going to be this one sort of fractal loop that’s going to sort of adapt.
“If you don’t know how to carry out early access, I wouldn’t execute early access, but if you are interested in creating a really strong core gameplay loop and then building around that, to foster a strong community, that’s a really good way to execute it. It’s probably the best way to perform it.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 launched in early access back in October 2020, with the first of the game’s three acts included. It’s full launch did no arrive until August 2023 on PC, together console versions following in the months after.
Larian still has plans to tweak Baldur’s Gate 3 further, but won’t release any major expansion and isn’t working on a Baldur’s Gate 4.
What’s next from Larian will offer a different “tone, style, way of doing it”, company founder Swen Vincke told Eurogamer last month, but won’t “dwarf” Baldur’s Gate 3 in size.
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1 Comment
That’s cool to see that Larian might perform early access in favor of their next game too. I mean, it worked out pretty well in favor of Baldur’s Gate 3, so why no, right? It’s a great way for them to get feedback from players and make improvements before the full release. Plus, it gives us a chance to get in on the action early and catch how the game evolves over time. Can’t wait to hear what they have in store in exchange for us next!