Baldur's Gate 4 Given Disappointing Update From Original Designer

Baldur’s Gate 3 fans hoping for a new entry in the beloved RPG series may have to keep their expectations in check.

Given the incredible public success of Baldur’s Gate 3 in 2023, it’s a given that many would believe Wizards of the Coast and Larian Studios would want to deliver a follow-up in the near future.

While Larian has ruled out ever returning to the world of Baldur’s Gate, Wizards of the Coast has been shopping around for a developer to take on the mantle.

It turns out that one of these developers was James Ohlen, who worked as a designer on the first two Baldur’s Gate games and has also worked on Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

More recently, he was a studio head at Archetype Entertainment, which is currently working on a Mass Effect spiritual successor called Exodus, which is also being published by Wizards of the Coast.

“The day [Chris Cox, Hasbro CEO] knew they weren't going to do it, he called me,” Ohlen told PC Gamer. “'Hey James, what do you think about doing Baldur's Gate 4?' And I was like, 'I don't, I would fail, and here's why I would fail.'"

Ohlen elaborates on this, saying that he would struggle to strike gold in the same way Larian did for Baldur’s Gate 3. He called the studio “perfect” for Baldur’s Gate 3, saying that it already had “all the tools and the people” from working on the Divinity: Original Sin games.

"I wouldn't want to compete against that. Doing Exodus is hard enough, but having to compete against Baldur's Gate 3? That would be insanity,” Ohlen adds.

Read More: The Witcher Spiritual Successor Sure Sounds A Lot Like Baldur's Gate 3

Baldurs Gate 3 official promo artwork, Larian Studios

It's A Shame We Won't Get Baldur's Gate 4 For A While, But The Series Seems To Be Far From Dead

While it sounds like Baldur’s Gate 4 might still be a distant thought in some Hasbro executive’s head, the future of the series isn’t quite dead in the water.

For starters, a new Astarion-centred prequel novel simply titled Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion will come out in September, and feature an audiobook voiced by Neil Newbon himself.

In addition to that, we’re also apparently getting remakes of the first two Baldur’s Gate games, according to reports.

These remakes would be different from the Enhanced Editions that were released in the 2010s, instead being more built from the ground up, featuring gameplay improvements and modern graphics.

If true, don’t expect them to play like Baldur’s Gate 3 though. Given that they’ll probably be developed in a different engine and may play differently from Larian’s games, it’s best to keep your expectations in check.

Larian Studios released Baldur’s Gate 3 into Steam Early Access in 2020, with the full release occurring in 2023.

The game was a huge success after it hit full release, with 98% of critics registered on OpenCritic recommending the game and earning an average score of 96/100. It’s sold over 20 million copies since its release, going “way beyond expectations” that Larian had for the game.

READ MORE: Baldur's Gate 3's Neil Newbon Wants Astarion Return, Has Live-Action Hopes