After 20 years of waiting, diehard fans were rewarded with the announcement that Larian Studios would be developing Baldur's Gate 3. While promotional material revealed the game's antagonist and new characters, fans were also relieved to see that it retained the turn-based roleplaying gameplay of previous Baldur's Gate installments. However, as more information on the game came out, the community began to wonder what other classic elements of the series would appear.
When Larian Studios developer Swen Vincke hosted a Reddit AMA, fans finally got a chance to ask the company's Creative Director and other staff members about Baldur's Gate 3's various features and influences. When one fan specifically asked about how the past games' storylines impacted the third entry's narrative, Vincke finally put the wave of speculation to rest.
According to the AMA, Baldur's Gate 3 will revisit the first two games' stories "in meaningful ways." Vincke promised that players would get to see returning characters, and eventually learn how the Baldur's Gate series' previous events would impact the third game's storyline. Although he did not want to spoil anything, Vincke promised that the game was called Baldur's Gate 3 because it was still a part of the larger franchise.
Fans hailed this announcement with a warm reception. Several replies called Larian's response "the best question and answer" of the Reddit thread. However, the fact that past characters and plot threads would be visited is unsurprising. Outside of the high fan expectations, created by the long gap between games, Larian's previous experience creating story-rich RPGs made the likelihood of drawing upon series lore to create a rich setting all the more plausible. In fact, it would be more shocking if the game did not call back to its predecessors at any point over the game's 100 hours of content.
Ultimately, Baldur's Gate 3 fans will soon be able to find out whether this much-anticipated sequel will live up to the excitement or confirm fan concerns. According to previous coverage, the PC game will be entering early access sometime this year. Hopefully, its incomplete state will show the game's potential, and the final release will fulfill that potential and give fans the satisfaction they have been yearning for.
Baldur's Gate 3 is currently in development for PC and Stadia, with early access planned to release in 2020.