Larian Studios Knows That Their New Game Trailer Was Provocative — That's the Point.

Over two weeks, an enigmatic sinister monolith sitting within the Mojave Desert stood as the video game community's greatest enigma. Theories intensified dramatically when an industry producer posted a picture of the curious statue, hinting it was a teaser for a major game announcement. Online communities raced to decipher the riddle. Might it signal new content for a popular franchise? The next chapter in an iconic saga?

Meanwhile, the team at Larian Studios found themselves gleefully tracking every wild theory internally. They held the answer: it was a teaser for the new *Divinity* title. Their private discussions became the exclusive place they could discuss it, committed by a solemn oath of secrecy. Their commitment to silence was so total that they themselves got caught up in the growing hype.

"I had a moment where seeing people speculate that it was *Bloodborne 2*," explained *Divinity's* writing director, "And I was like ‘Oh, I hope it is!’ Then I remembered: ‘No, it definitely is not!’"

This marketing stunt created a classic shared mystery, but it also provoked a pressing question: "Can you ultimately let down people if you generate hype?" This dilemma is one Larian Studios must now grapple with as *Divinity* continues development. Touted as the studio's "most ambitious" title so far, the RPG can expect significantly increased eyes following the massive success of their last project, the Game of the Year-winning *Baldur's Gate 3*.

Going Back to the Source

"I think the key point is that we aim not to disappoint fans," stated Larian founder Swen Vincke, when asked about concerns over alienating new fans anticipating a direct sequel. "We are confident that the primary reason they played *Baldur's Gate 3* was the core mechanics. That's our formula, and it has its origins in the *Divinity* series. This project is essentially going back to the roots of it."

Larian pulled out the red carpet to excite *Baldur's Gate 3* fans excited for *Divinity*. Its cinematic trailer flaunted high production value, depicting a nightmarish scene reminiscent of certain cult films. The teaser featured visceral imagery, designed in part on a developer. It was a bold reveal, showing the studio's confidence in its next game.

However, a new *Divinity* was not initially the plan. While the studio planned to return to its flagship CRPG series sooner or later, they originally wanted to creating a successor to *Baldur's Gate 3* with a project closer in spirit to that universe. The current project has only been production 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," said Vincke. "We planned to take our time on *Divinity* subsequently. But we felt that our hearts weren't really in it. We had finished our journey with *Baldur's Gate 3*, so doing another wasn't what we wanted. So we pivoted away from that project. This move accelerated everything for *Divinity*, which meant we had to start from scratch."

Forging a Coherent World

Returning to *Divinity* after nearly a decade posed a significant challenge. The team acquired vast experience crafting *Baldur's Gate 3*, which Vincke calls the *Divinity* series at a more "evolved level." Now, he states that the new *Divinity* will be an further evolved version of *Baldur's Gate 3* itself. To pull that off, Larian needed to begin by re-solidifying the world's foundation.

"Among the first things we did was begin constructing a unified universe, because the *Divinity* lore was in the past all over the place," Vincke said. "It was necessary to re-establish it, a process we learned from our work with D&D. Concurrently, we were building a new engine, so we modified our plans to implement it earlier. That process obviously was not as smoothly as expected, so we're now nearing the end of a challenging transition period."

Vincke stated that *Divinity* will be a tactical RPG playable alone or in cooperative multiplayer. It is also a standalone title, despite being set after the events of the last major entry. Longtime fans will recognize some familiar characters, but prior knowledge is not essential. The objective is to create a "believable world where magical things occur because of your actions."

Giving Players the Reins

The idea of player impact is crucial. When questioned what Larian considers the most important thing to get right in *Divinity*, Vincke offered a succinct answer: agency. Larian's goal is to craft a richer RPG packed with engaging "gameplay mechanics." This focus on meaningful choice was a key ingredient of *Baldur's Gate 3*'s success, and the studio claims it is enhancing that philosophy to new heights here.

"One of our philosophy is 'forge your own path.' So the agency we want to grant you is the boldest part," Vincke explained. "There will be systems in there that will have you wondering, 'Really? It reacts? But all I did was this simple thing!' We want players to discover these moments themselves. When I, as a developer saw we could link these elements, it brought me pure delight. It thrilled my gamer heart, and that's the feeling I want you to have when the game releases."

Beyond the enhanced focus on player agency, the production of *Baldur's Gate 3* has been invaluable to *Divinity*'s evolution. The studio explicitly highlights that it learned significant expertise in writing and creating cutscenes from that project, which will be a key focus of the new game.

Learning from the Community

The team also analyzed the challenges they faced during the making of *Baldur's Gate 3*. Vincke notes that onboarding could be tricky in that game due to diverse class rules. To make *Divinity* more user-friendly from the beginning, Larian decided to "create our own rulesets so we could make it more streamlined for play."

"A prime example was reactions in *Baldur's Gate 3*," Vincke said. "Initially, we didn't want to include them. During early access, the community really, really wanted them. We were concerned 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 great moment because it significantly made the game better."

Based on this experience, Larian's fans will be pivotal to *Divinity*'s final form. Vincke said that the studio will keep taking into account fan feedback