Baldur’s Gate 3 is a runaway success, winning every single game-of-the-year award and spawning a fandom that eclipses that of the original two games, which were massive hits in their own right. The longevity of the game in terms of consecutive players over a year and a half after release is also noteworthy; players are playing Baldur’s Gate 3 over and over again.
While some from the industry have said that the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 may have an understated impact on gaming trends, others, such as New Blood Interactive’s chief executive officer Dave Oshry, believe Larian’s megahit is a game-changer.
The People Want CRPGs
In an episode of the Quad Damage Podcast, Oshry talked about the potential impact of Baldur’s Gate 3 on the psychology of developers, publishers and investors (nice spot, GamesRadar+).
“[Larian] has proven that people are not stupid, they don’t want dumbed-down RPGs,” Oshry said. “[Publishers] can sell 50 million copies of a deep-ass CRPG that will take you f**king months to beat… I think that means we can do this, and Microsoft should fund a Pillars of Eternity 3.”
Obsidian Entertainment’s Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is as pure an example of a CRPG that you can find. Game director Josh Sawyer has previously said that he would only make a Pillars of Eternity 3 if he had a Baldur’s Gate 3-sized budget, which is speculated to be around $100 million. Pillars of Eternity 2 didn’t sell particularly well at release, despite being a fantastic game in my own humble opinion.
Although Oshry says during the podcast that “Josh really wants to do a Pillars 3,” the Obsidian veteran has seemed more interested in creating a Pillars of Eternity: Tactics game lately. Obsidian’s Avowed, a first-person RPG spin-off of Pillars of Eternity, has been moderately successful, both critically and commercially.
New Blood Interactive is publishing a lot of upcoming projects, including a Fallout-inspired RPG from the developers of Dusk. Oshry teased the game last year, showing off a first-person animation of someone firing a quirky weapon.
