Larian Studios Understands That Their New Game Trailer Was Provocative — And That's Exactly the Intent.

Over two weeks, an enigmatic demonic monolith located in the Mojave Desert stood as the video game community's biggest mystery. Speculation reached a fever pitch when a prominent figure shared a photograph of the strange statue, implying it was a teaser for a major game announcement. Online communities raced to decipher the puzzle. Might it signal new content for a popular franchise? A long-awaited sequel in a beloved series?

Meanwhile, the team at Larian Studios were amusedly sharing every wild theory among themselves. They held the answer: it was a teaser for their next project. This space served as the exclusive place they could talk about it, committed by a strict oath of secrecy. Their dedication to silence was so total that they themselves became swept up in the public excitement.

"I had a moment where I saw people guess that it was *Bloodborne 2*," recalled the game's lead writer, "And I thought ‘Oh, I hope it is!’ Then it hit me: ‘No, it certainly is not!’"

The statue provided a perfect topic of conversation, but it also provoked a pressing question: "Do you ultimately let down people if you create anticipation?" This dilemma is one Larian Studios is about to address as their next RPG approaches. Billed as the studio's "most ambitious" project to date, the RPG can expect far more attention after the massive success of their previous project, the celebrated *Baldur's Gate 3*.

A Homecoming

"I think the biggest thing is that we aim not to disappoint fans," commented Larian founder Swen Vincke, when asked about concerns over alienating new fans expecting a direct sequel. "We are confident that the main draw they played *Baldur's Gate 3* was the core mechanics. That's our special sauce, and it has its origins in the *Divinity* games. *Divinity* is essentially going back to the origins of it."

Larian pulled out all the stops to excite *Baldur's Gate 3* fans interested in *Divinity*. Its announcement trailer flaunted stunning animation, depicting a horrific scene reminiscent of folk horror. The teaser included graphic imagery, created in part on a developer. It was a bold reveal, demonstrating the studio's confidence in its next game.

However, a new *Divinity* was not initially the plan. While the studio aimed to revisit its original CRPG series in time, they first wanted to following up to *Baldur's Gate 3* with a project closer in spirit to that world. *Divinity* has only been active development for about a couple of years following a dramatic shift in plans.

"We were working on a new game based in the world of D&D, using the *Baldur's Gate 3* engine," explained Vincke. "We planned to take our time on *Divinity* subsequently. But we realized that our passion weren't really in it. We were essentially done with *Baldur's Gate 3*, so doing another wasn't what we wanted. So we pivoted away from that project. Pivoting early accelerated everything for *Divinity*, which meant we had to build from the ground up."

Solidifying the Universe

Returning to *Divinity* after nearly a decade was a considerable challenge. The team learned immense experience developing *Baldur's Gate 3*, which Vincke describes as the *Divinity* series at a more "advanced level." Now, he claims that the new *Divinity* will be an further evolved version of that game. To achieve this, Larian had to begin by overhauling the setting's lore.

"One of the first things we did was lay the groundwork for a coherent universe, because the *Divinity* lore was historically not fully unified," Vincke said. "It was necessary to give it a firm base, a process we learned from our work with D&D. At the same time, we were creating a new engine, so we modified our plans to leverage it earlier. This transition obviously was not as smoothly as hoped, so we're now concluding a complex development phase."

Vincke clarified that *Divinity* will be a tactical RPG that can be played alone or in cooperative multiplayer. It is also a standalone title, even though after the events of the last major entry. Veteran fans will spot some familiar characters, but experience with the older games will not be essential. The stated goal is to create a "grounded world where extraordinary things happen because of your actions."

Ambition Rooted in Choice

This last point is crucial. When asked what Larian believes is the most important aspect to nail in *Divinity*, Vincke gave a one-word answer: agency. Larian's mission is to craft a richer RPG featuring engaging "gameplay mechanics." This emphasis on deep simulation was a cornerstone of *Baldur's Gate 3*'s success, and the studio says it is enhancing that design principle more aggressively here.

"One of our mantra is 'write your own legend.' So the freedom we want to provide you is the most ambitious part," Vincke said. "There will be systems in there that will have you wondering, 'Really? It reacts? But all I did was one small action!' We aren't going to tell these possibilities themselves. When I, as a developer discovered we could make these systems, it brought me great joy. It excited my inner player, and that's the feeling I want players to experience when the game releases."

Beyond the deepened focus on player agency, the development of *Baldur's Gate 3* has been instrumental to *Divinity*'s progress. The studio specifically points out that it learned significant expertise in narrative design and crafting cinematics from that project, which will be a central element of the new game.

Learning from the Community

The team also reflected on the difficulties they encountered during the development of *Baldur's Gate 3*. Vincke observes that introducing new players could be daunting in that game due to diverse class rules. To make *Divinity* more approachable from the outset, Larian aimed to "establish our own mechanics so we could make it more intuitively designed."

"A prime example was reactions in *Baldur's Gate 3*," Vincke said. "At first, we were resistant to include them. Midway through early access, the community insisted on them. We feared it would slow down the gameplay. So we implemented them in and discovered, well, it's actually better. They had a point! It was a positive moment because it clearly made the game better."

Based on this experience, Larian's community will be crucial to *Divinity*'s success. Vincke said that the studio will continue taking into account fan feedback