Following Baldur’s Gate 3: The Franchise’s History Poised for a Comeback

Baldur’s Gate 3. Where do I even start? This game, man. It kinda flipped the table on what we’d expect from the big names in gaming. No daily grind for microtransactions, no “oh, here’s another overpriced DLC!” Instead, just straight-up updates that felt like gifts after a long day. And Larian, bless them, kept chatter open, which is… I dunno, kind of refreshing, right? Add to that, single-player charm, and BAM! It’s dominated Steam since forever. Guess what? Turns out, not every gamer wants multiplayer chaos or to max out their credit cards.

Now, here’s the kicker — Patch 8? Yep, that was the big finale. No more big updates, folks. Time to pack up and move on ’cause Larian’s got other fish to fry. And Baldur’s Gate 4? Sigh. The license tossed back to Wizards of the Coast, like a game of hot potato. As of May 2025, it’s all hush-hush on who’ll pick it up next. Feels like déjà vu, waiting ages like we did between the second and third games. Maybe that’s not all bad though — more time to binge Netflix? Who knows?

And let’s spin back to history, ok? After BioWare dropped Baldur’s Gate 2, it was like the franchise hit a snooze button for a couple decades. Because, guess what, nobody had their hands on the rights to make Baldur’s Gate 3 till Larian came along. Took ’em a massive seven years to bake that game into what we know today. Three of those years? Early access — they sure had us waiting, huh?

Jumping to 2025, and here we are. No devs with the Baldur’s Gate license. Man, games take forever these days. Crazy imagining Baldur’s Gate 4 could be, like, ten years away. I’ll probably have gray hair, or whatever.

Here’s an optimistic twist, though. Remember the old spin-offs after Baldur’s Gate 2? Dark Alliance was a thing — not terrible, just its own vibe. We even got one in 2021, though, let’s be honest, it wasn’t memorable. But who says a fresh Dark Alliance can’t tie us over? With the right nods to Baldur’s Gate 3? Throw in some familiar faces, maybe dive into the whole Bhaal cult drama or the Harpers. Could be fun. Certainly enough to keep us talking till whatever comes next.

Is this making sense? Anyway. That’s the scoop from where I sit, coffee in hand and all.