After the release of Larian Studios' hit, other developers are in no hurry to offer similar games.
The full version of the cRPG Baldur's Gate 3 turned out to be a huge hit. Some players are wondering why there are still no similar projects on the market.
This question was also asked by ex-Call of Duty developer Christopher Anhos — he believes he has found the answer:
"...The industry used to rush to chase any such success [...] why hasn't [BG3] spawned a wave of imitators?"
Reason:
This game is a miracle:
- Huge budget
- Niche genre
- Experienced studio
- Beloved franchise
- Years of iterations.
This cannot be copied. It needs to be earned. In the case of Larian, this is not "luck". They spent more than a decade developing Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel. BG3 did not appear out of nowhere.
This is the result of an engine refined through testing, a studio that knew what it was doing, and a willingness to tell investors: "Yes, this will take years, and no, there will be no battle pass".
According to Christopher, most developers simply cannot afford to take such risks. CRPGs require a strong script, complex systems, and a high level of skill — this cannot be quickly done according to a template:
These are not the games that can be quickly assembled from templates or with minimal resources. Their creation requires time, attention, and deep design elaboration [...] BG3 is a game created manually in an industry where speed and scalability often play a crucial role
[...] BG3 is a prime example of what can be achieved when a studio puts creative vision and long-term quality above short-term performance.
And this is not easy to repeat, as it requires a mindset focused on long-term commitment and creative risk for all stakeholders, which is becoming increasingly rare in today's industry.
