There is enough video game adaptations it’s easier to look at each game through a lens of “when,” not “if,” they get one. However, that doesn’t take away from the surprise of HBO adapting the fantasy-RPG series Baldur’s Gate—Not only that, but continuing the story in its acclaimed third episode.

Reactions across the board leaned more toward mixed, if not overwhelming, negativity. Much of this reception, along with general confusion, began with the news that The Last of Us Showrunner Craig Mazin is in charge here, and fans of that property are more than open about their feelings towards that adaptation.

Further complicating matters is that Dungeons and Dragons Owner Wizards of the Coast is involved with the show while Baldur’s Gate 3 creator Larian now not. Oh, and there’s the part where BG3 has a lot of gameplay in it, with players spending dozens or hundreds of hours making choices and rolls that dictate its conclusion and the fate of the world and its core cast.

Between these three main points, you can see how this show now puts anyone touched BG3 in a unique situation. But for as much discussion as news about it said Baldur show that got it, how much of it is actually about the show itself versus the idea of ​​continuing on said Baldur world without Larian? The Belgian developer has been around for 30 years, with its profile gradually built up through it HOLINESS series. Released in 2017, Holiness: Original Sin II put more eyes on it, but Baldur’s Gate 3 Leaving Early Access in 2023 and the subsequent success made it so that everyone knows the name of the studio. That’s what happens to hard workers in any creative field; sooner or later, the stars will align on where their next project will be the one that put them on the map.

It was only a few years ago, but BG3 truly a remarkable achievement for its creator and D&D in great need of it at the time thanks to it Open Gaming License Controversy earlier that year, remember? The way people talk about it, it was the second coming of RPGswith many saying that similar fantasy franchises should follow in its footsteps (or just give it to Larian), although the developer himself explained things happened to be lined up this way.

So it’s likely that Larian will continue the momentum of a sequel or major expansion… which surprised everyone when it was revealed in 2024 that it was filled with Baldur’s Gate. There are patches and updates, but otherwise continues in other projects based on its own IP, the first of which is HOLINESS, revealed this past December.

If the studio is really in the world of said Baldur for a good, not for a long time, or if that decision that’s right inspired by deletions affecting Wizards back then, it really felt like some kind of unspoken rule had been broken. In the past, Larian gained a reputation as a developer Doing Things Right by participating in the game community through memes, sales, and revealing a VARIETY on player statistics. Departures said Baldur in the background it shouldn’t be the true parasocial betrayal for fans, but it could be a soft chink in the armor, although it also sets the interest for any of its next games.

As the first real addition to Baldur’s Gate universe post-BG3, its availability is good for helping fans get the shock out of their system so they can accept whoever is in charge once Wizards finds a developer for Baldur’s Gate 4. Is that the only good thing about the series? We will wait and see; They both run post through it and appears open to talking to Mazin about the performance, to do it well.

And if the show is going to be a bust, though, it won’t take away from Larian’s accomplishments Baldur’s Gate 3—and this isn’t the first time its players have had to live with a bad roll.

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