Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an action RPG originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2001, and to the surprise of fans everywhere was just re-released on modern consoles in May 2021. Fans of the Dungeons and Dragons series were thrilled that a game seemingly everyone had forgotten about had been shown some love. Fans of the series are now wondering if it is time to re-release its sequel Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2, and if so if it will simply drop onto fan's laps once more?
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was developed by Snowblind Studios, a video game developer who was acquired by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and later merged with Monolith Productions. The sequel to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Dark Alliance 2 was developed by Black Isle Studios, the developer behind the ever-popular Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 games and is a solid entry in the series. As such, fans are hoping with the surprise of Baldur's Gate: DA being ported to modern consoles that the same will be done with its sequel, as well as Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest and its sequel Champions: Return to Arms.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
Baldur's Gate: DA 2 is the direct sequel to the original Dark Alliance, both set in the Forgotten Realms campaign of Dungeons and Dragons series. Both games utilize the 3rd Edition ruleset of Dungeons and Dragons and are the first to utilize the ruleset in a real-time Action RPG. Dark Alliance 2 improved upon the original, adding two more race/class combinations for players to choose, and the ability to create custom weapons and armor. Both games feature couch co-op which is included with the re-release of Dark Alliance, a game feature that seems to otherwise be fading trend.
With the drop of the original Dark Alliance game on modern consoles, fans are now expecting its sequel to also release in the same manner. In a recent tweet by Black Isle Studios, they claim a Steam port of Dark Alliance is in the works, while the sequel Dark Alliance 2 is on the table. It seems like a re-release of Dark Alliance 2 is inevitable to the delight of fans, though as of writing this the Switch port of Dark Alliance is still delayed. Hopefully, Black Isle Studios or Nintendo can figure out the problem with the eShop so that future releases aren't delayed in the same manner.
What About Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms?
Fans of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 and 2 might be aware of similar games that use the same Dark Alliance game engine and are also made by Snowblind Studios. These are Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest and Champions: Return to Arms. These two titles played very similarly to the Dark Alliance games but had improved upon the engine, allowing for online play with up to 3 other players, a feature that could be utilized if brought to main consoles. Both games also allow players to import and export their characters, letting players play their character together with their equipment and items at any point in the game.
With Black Isle Studios teasing Dark Alliance 2 it is very possible that fans of the series could see the re-release of both Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms on modern consoles. Though Dark Alliance wasn't a remaster, becoming more accessible to newer generations of gamers is always a good thing. This would in turn keep the series on fan's minds as Dungeons and Dragons currently has more games on the way.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is available for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.