Larian Studios Is Well Aware That Divinity Trailer Was Provocative — And That's the Point.

For a fortnight, an enigmatic sinister monolith located in the Mojave Desert became the video game community's greatest enigma. Theories intensified dramatically when a prominent figure posted a picture of the strange statue, implying it was a teaser for a major game unveiling. Gamers everywhere raced to decipher the riddle. Was it new content for a popular franchise? A long-awaited sequel in a beloved series?

At the same time, the team at Larian Studios were amusedly sharing every outlandish theory in a private channel. They possessed the answer: it was a teaser for their upcoming game. That forum was the exclusive place they could mention it, sworn by a strict oath of secrecy. Their commitment to silence was so total that they even became swept up in the growing hype.

"I had a moment where seeing people speculate that it was *Bloodborne 2*," explained *Divinity's* lead writer, "And I thought ‘Oh, I hope it is!’ Then it hit me: ‘No, it definitely is not!’"

The statue made for a great shared mystery, but it simultaneously provoked a important question: "Is it possible to end up disappointing people if you build hype?" This dilemma is one Larian Studios must now confront as their next RPG continues development. Billed as the studio's "largest-scale" title so far, the RPG will have a lot more scrutiny after the massive success of their previous project, the critically adored *Baldur's Gate 3*.

A Homecoming

"I think the most important factor is that we aim not to disappoint fans," said Larian founder Swen Vincke, addressing concerns over losing new fans expecting a direct sequel. "We are confident that the main draw they played *Baldur's Gate 3* was the gameplay. That's our special sauce, and it was originated in our original IP. The new game is essentially heading back to the origins of it."

Larian unveiled the red carpet to get *Baldur's Gate 3* fans excited for *Divinity*. Its reveal trailer showcased stunning animation, centering around a nightmarish scene reminiscent of certain cult films. The teaser featured visceral imagery, designed in part on a writer. It was a bold reveal, demonstrating the studio's faith in its next venture.

However, this return to their own series was not initially the plan. While the studio aimed to return to its original CRPG series eventually, they first wanted to creating a successor to *Baldur's Gate 3* with a project more familiar to that universe. *Divinity* has only been active development for about a couple of years following a dramatic pivot.

"We were working on a new game based in the world of D&D, using the *Baldur's Gate 3* engine," noted Vincke. "Our intention was to work gradually on *Divinity* subsequently. But we felt that our enthusiasm lay elsewhere. We were essentially done with *Baldur's Gate 3*, so doing another wasn't what we wanted. So we pivoted away from that project. That decision accelerated everything for *Divinity*, which meant we had to build from the ground up."

Forging a Coherent World

Revisiting *Divinity* after nearly a decade was a considerable challenge. The team learned immense experience developing *Baldur's Gate 3*, which Vincke describes as the *Divinity* series at a more "refined level." Now, he states that the new *Divinity* will be an further evolved version of *Baldur's Gate 3* itself. To achieve this, Larian needed to begin by reworking the setting's lore.

"Among the first things we did was begin constructing a unified universe, because the *Divinity* lore was historically all over the place," Vincke said. "We had to re-establish it, a process we learned from our work with D&D. At the same time, we were building a new engine, so we adjusted our plans to use it earlier. That process naturally did not go as smoothly as expected, so we're now wrapping up a challenging transition period."

Vincke stated that *Divinity* will be a tactical RPG that can be played solo or in co-op multiplayer. It is also a self-contained title, despite being set after the events of the last major entry. Veteran fans will spot some familiar characters, but experience with the older games will not be required. The stated goal is to create a "believable world where extraordinary things occur because of the choices you make."

The Core Pillar: Player Agency

That final concept is crucial. When questioned what Larian believes is the most important thing to nail in *Divinity*, Vincke offered a succinct answer: agency. Larian's mission is to craft a deeper RPG packed with compelling "video game systems." This emphasis on deep simulation was a defining feature of *Baldur's Gate 3*'s success, and the studio says it is pushing that philosophy even further here.

"A central part of our philosophy is 'create your own story.' So the freedom we want to give you is the most ambitious part," Vincke detailed. "There will be reactions in there that will make you say, 'Really? It reacts? But all I did was a minor choice!' We want players to discover these connections themselves. When we, during testing realized we could make these elements, it brought me pure delight. It thrilled my inner player, and that is the sensation I want you to feel when the game releases."

In addition to the enhanced focus on player agency, the development of *Baldur's Gate 3* has been invaluable to *Divinity*'s evolution. The studio explicitly points out that it learned valuable expertise in narrative design and producing in-game story moments from that project, which will be a key focus of the new game.

Learning from the Community

The team also analyzed the difficulties they faced during the development of *Baldur's Gate 3*. Vincke observes that introducing new players could be challenging in that game due to diverse class rules. To make *Divinity* more user-friendly from the beginning, Larian aimed to "create our own rulesets so we could make it more intuitively designed."

"A prime example was reactions in *Baldur's Gate 3*," Vincke said. "At first, we were resistant to include them. Midway through early access, the community insisted on them. We feared it would interrupt the gameplay. So we implemented them in and discovered, well, it's truly better. They had a point! It was a great moment because it significantly made the game better."

Based on this experience, Larian's player base will be instrumental to *Divinity*'s final form. Vincke said that the studio will continue taking into account fan feedback