Larian Studios has announced that a new Baldur’s Gate 3 patch will allow for moderation of the game’s features.
Announced in a detailed Steam Community Update post titled “Evil Endings, New Beginnings,” Patch 7 for Baldur’s Gate 3 could change the game substantially.
Baldur’s Gate 3 new Patch
As we reported late last month, Larian will not be involved in any sequel or DLC to the acclaimed fantasy title and will turn their sights onto something bigger.
Sven Wicke, the CEO of Larian, told GameSpot that the studio’s involvement in any other adventure in Faerûn would be “literally the opposite of what Larian is about. We want to do big, new things. We don’t want to rehash the thing that we’ve done already.”
Patch 7 might change the fate of the title, as the community moderation and development teams eagerly anticipate the chance to change the game’s key elements. Through this opportunity, there could be a swathe of non-official Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) content that the heavily invested and caring community has curated.
This parting gift to moderators and developers would also leave some lasting control in the hands of the community, who are disappointed at Larian’s decision, but could continue their great work.
Many acclaimed titles, such as Fallout, Skyrim, and, as we reported today, Starfield, have survived thanks to the care and nurture of developers and active communities.
Larian said “In this case (about leaving BG3), after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs (intellectual properties). We’re currently working on two new projects and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store.”
The post on Steam said, “This next patch will also begin introducing our official modding tools, letting you change up visuals, animations, sounds, stats, and more to overhaul Baldur’s Gate 3 into the weird nightmare realm of your dreams.”
Larian will also invite community members to a closed BETA to playtest the Patch 7 changes, but this will only be a “select number of players” according to the studio.
The BAFTA and Game of the Year Award-winning studio will still be hard at work to bring crossplay and a photo mode to the fantasy lands, but this will be something “down the road.”
This will be the final patch from Larian that addresses story content, with the addition of new endings for the Dark Urge (no spoilers here), Jaheira’s “unwillingness to follow the group and jump into combat, and Wyll’s less-than-romantic greetings.”
Larian left readers of the Steam post on a positive note and reassured fans of the series and the studio with an excited final note from CEO Wicke:
“I don’t know if we’re going to pull it off, but looking at our narrative, visual and gameplay plans, I think what we’re working on now will be our best work ever. I get excited like a kid watching the key imagery, want to show it to everyone now and grumble in frustration at having to wait until it’s actually all working. Yes, it’s hype but it’s hype because it really looks and feels good.”
Image: Larian.
