Baldur’s Gate 3 is taking the spotlight, earning the most nominations at this year’s The Game Awards. Beyond its critical acclaim, this best-selling title is reigniting enthusiasm for the CRPG genre.
Larian Studios received its first win for Baldur’s Gate 3 at the Golden Joystick Awards after the latter was recognized as the Ultimate Game of the Year. Studio founder and CEO Swen Vincke recently spoke with GamesRadar+ to discuss his hopes for the genre following the success of Baldur’s Gate 3.
“We’ve always been very focused on just making our game, and a lot of people have attached a lot of things to that because the game turned out the way that we wanted it to be,” Vinke shared. “So I hope there will be more games like a CRPG type of game. It’s a game I like to play, and a lot of people in the industry like to play as well. So, If those games come out, and they don’t have a story that we know already, I think that will be great. I look forward to those types of games.”
CRPG refers to a specific subset of roleplaying games, usually presented in an isometric top-down view and developed with an open-ended and story-driven experience reminiscent of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. Aside from Baldur’s Gate, the subgenre also has the Warhammer franchise, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and Neverwinter Nights.
CRPG haven’t had much following in recent years, but Baldur’s Gate 3 has shown that there is a huge market for them based on its concurrent player numbers.
Baldur’s Gate 3 looks to be a runaway winner at The Game Awards, receiving a total of eight nominations including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, and Best RPG among others. Even with the stacked line-up of nominees, many in the gaming community think that it will win Game of the Year and Best RPG.
Reacting to the nominations, Larian Studios said it was extremely proud of what Baldur’s Gate 3 has achieved and invited fans to vote for the game. Vinke said that the nominations received by a “niche RPG” is motivating and teased that the studio will be working on its next big game.
“This is a real honor, especially in a year with so many releases,” Vincke wrote. “Seeing our little ‘niche RPG’ make such waves is very motivating. I wish I could tell you about our next big game but this is really encouraging us to ensure it pushes many boundaries. I’m very excited about it.”
This is a real honor, especially in a year with so many releases. Seeing our little “niche rpg” make such waves is very motivating. I wish I could tell you about our next big game but this is really encouraging us to ensure it pushes many boundaries. I’m very excited about it. https://t.co/b6fBssUF7n
— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) November 14, 2023
We’re not sure what else Larian Studios has in store but the future looks bright for the CRPG subgenre. Hopefully, the studio’s success will inspire other studios to work on “niche RPG” titles and explore new IPs. We know other studios would want to follow suit but it is a very risky proposition for most to put all their hopes on such projects.
