Larian Studios has revealed more information about its upcoming Divinity game, and if you were worried that the studio would deviate from its recent spate of turn-based RPG successes, then worry no more.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Larian head Swen Vincke confirms that the new Divinity game, which was revealed during the Game Awards last week (and which still doesn’t have an official title), will be a turn-based RPG.
Vincke also says that the game will represent his studio “unleashed”, and that it’ll feature many of the hallmarks you’ve come to expect from a Larian game “brought to the next level”. I expect that means plenty of reactivity, lots of options in combat, and a dizzying amount of content in general.
Boldly, Vincke says he believes that the studio’s new Divinity game will be “way better” than the phenomenally successful Baldur’s Gate 3.
According to Schreier, Vincke and Larian were originally intending to work on a new Dungeons & Dragons RPG with Wizards of the Coast before realizing there was no enthusiasm for such a project, hence the pivot to Divinity.
Vincke says that Larian wants to finish the new Divinity in less time than it took the studio to release Baldur’s Gate 3; he says that “three to four years is much healthier than six years”, so it sounds like that’s about as long as you can expect to wait for the game to launch.
Perhaps controversially, Larian is also using generative AI to make the new Divinity game. Vincke is quick to assert that Divinity‘s actual content won’t be AI-generated, but that the studio is using the technology for concept art, placeholder text, and exploring ideas during development.
Reassuringly, though, Vincke concludes by saying he intends to use the money generated by Baldur’s Gate 3 for more experimentation and expansion in Divinity. He says the game will do “a couple of things that you haven’t seen in RPGs before”.
We’ll have to wait and see what Larian is intending to do with Divinity; we’re probably a ways away from even a full reveal, let alone a release date. Stay tuned for more.
