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    Baldur’s Gate Show Cuts Larian Out, Fans Aren’t Happy

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    Last night, HBO announced what could best be described as a terroristic threat against me, specifically by revealing it’s working on a Baldur’s Gate TV show that will take place after Baldur’s Gate 3 and canonize the events of the choice-driven RPG, all while working with The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin. The second part of the one-two punch came shortly after, when it was confirmed that Larian Studios, the team behind Baldur’s Gate 3, won’t be involved in the show at all. The fans, and maybe even some of the folks at Larian, have been expressing disappointment about all of the above in the hours since.

    If you only passively pay attention to Baldur’s Gate 3, the reason this arrangement is possible is because BG is a Dungeons & Dragons property, and that means Larian doesn’t own the IP, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast do. The original announcement outlines that the TV show is a collaboration between HBO and Hasbro, so Larian has essentially been excised from the production. Now that the news is out there, members of the studio have put out statements celebrating the fact that Baldur’s Gate 3 reached such “heights” that it’s getting an HBO show, while others are advocating for the writers at the studio that brought these characters to life and are now being handed off to Mazin and the show’s team.

    Larian CEO Swen Vincke posted a lengthy statement on his X account saying that Mazin has reached out to talk to the studio about their thoughts on the show, so it sounds like they may be able to weigh in at least partially about whatever the series is cooking up. He also says that he’s “eager to find out” which Baldur’s Gate 3 endings and choices HBO picks for the series.

    Crazy that a story that started out in a small hotel conference room eventually evolved into a narrative inspiring enough for it to become a HBO series. We worked incredibly hard on making Baldur’s Gate 3 worthy of its legacy. Its characters and narratives are the result of many teams working together and I think I can speak for them all in saying that they’ll think this is cool and hope that what comes next will enjoy the same level of passion. The endings of BG3 were created so they could serve as narrative soil for new adventures. There’s plenty of directions they could go. I’m eager to find out which ones Craig and his team will pick. He’s reached out for a chat so we’ll have the opportunity to tell him our thoughts. Crossing fingers that the story we’re cooking up for Divinity will eventually grow to the same heights. Certainly putting in the hours.

    Michael Douse, the publishing director at Larian, responded to the announcement by saying he hopes that, despite their not being involved with the show, the BG3 writers still get the credit they deserve, and that the characters they wrote are treated with the same respect.

    “I’ve spent the last 8 to 10 years of my life with the writers & creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 and they’re the most incredible storytellers & creators in the space,” Douse wrote. “Only hope is that they get both the credit deserved & the characters are represented at the same level as the game. I genuinely don’t think anyone can trump our writers. Our stories are built by fierce camaraderie and resolve. I have watched them write and write and write and through respect for audience & material come up with some of the finest shit I have ever played. I hope TV allows for the same thoroughness. Don’t abandon hope, but do expect the world. That’s the job.”

    Baldur’s Gate 3 fans are less hopeful, with many rejecting the concept of a non-Larian-led show that picks different endings and choices outright. 

    And they’re right to be skeptical! I have zero reason to feel any confidence in this project as I watched Mazin butcher one of my favorite games for seven weeks straight and will likely do it once more when The Last of Us’ third (and hopefully final) season premieres down the line. Dungeons & Dragons is such an expansive franchise that focusing specifically on the events and characters of Baldur’s Gate 3 is such a limiting framework to work in. The only reason I can imagine this is the route they’re going is so they can capitalize on Baldur’s Gate 3’s success. That doesn’t sound like an earnest endeavor, it sounds like a cynical one that misunderstands why people like the game in the first place. But hey, it wouldn’t be the first time an HBO adaptation seemed to carry a weird amount of disdain for the source material and the audience.



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