Larian Studios Knows That Divinity Trailer Was Provocative — That's the Point.

During a two-week span, a mysterious sinister monolith located in the Mojave Desert was the video game community's greatest enigma. Conjecture reached a fever pitch when a prominent figure shared an image of the peculiar statue, implying it was a teaser for an upcoming game unveiling. Online communities went into overdrive to crack the riddle. Might it signal new content for a popular franchise? The next chapter in a beloved series?

Simultaneously, the team at Larian Studios found themselves happily discussing every far-fetched theory internally. They possessed the answer: it was a teaser for their next project. Their private discussions became the sole place they could mention it, committed by an unbreakable oath of secrecy. Their resolve to silence was so absolute that they even became swept up in the speculative frenzy.

"I had a moment where I saw people speculate that it was a sequel to *Bloodborne*," recalled the game's writing director, "And I was like ‘Oh, I hope it is!’ Then I remembered: ‘No, it certainly is not!’"

The statue provided a perfect shared mystery, but it simultaneously provoked a important question: "Do you ultimately let down people if you build excitement?" This dilemma is one Larian Studios is about to address as *Divinity* approaches. Described as the studio's "largest-scale" project to date, the RPG will have a lot more eyes after the award-winning success of their prior project, the celebrated *Baldur's Gate 3*.

Returning to Roots

"I think the biggest thing is that we aim not to disappoint fans," commented Larian founder Swen Vincke, when asked about concerns over alienating new fans expecting a direct sequel. "We are confident that the core appeal they played *Baldur's Gate 3* was the gameplay. That is our proven method, and it was originated in the *Divinity* series. This project is essentially a return to the origins of it."

Larian rolled out all the stops to excite *Baldur's Gate 3* fans curious about *Divinity*. The game's cinematic trailer showcased high production value, centering around a horrific scene reminiscent of folk horror. The teaser featured intense imagery, modeled in part on a developer. It was a confident reveal, demonstrating the studio's belief in its next project.

However, this return to their own series wasn't always the plan. While the studio planned to revisit its original CRPG series eventually, they originally wanted to following up to *Baldur's Gate 3* with a project closer in spirit to that setting. The current project has been in active development for about a couple of years following a significant pivot.

"Initially, we were developing a new game based in the world of D&D, using the *Baldur's Gate 3* engine," explained Vincke. "Our intention was to work gradually on *Divinity* afterward. But we realized that our enthusiasm lay elsewhere. We had finished our journey with *Baldur's Gate 3*, so doing another wasn't what we wanted. So we halted that project. That decision accelerated everything for *Divinity*, which left us in a position where we had to build from the ground up."

Solidifying the Universe

Revisiting *Divinity* after nearly a decade posed a considerable challenge. The team gained vast experience developing *Baldur's Gate 3*, which Vincke calls the *Divinity* series at a more "refined level." Now, he claims that the new *Divinity* will be an further evolved version of its predecessor. To pull that off, Larian had to begin by reworking the setting's lore.

"Among the first things we did was begin constructing a coherent universe, because the *Divinity* lore was in the past not fully unified," Vincke explained. "It was necessary to give it a firm base, a process we mastered during our work with D&D. Simultaneously, we were creating a new engine, so we adapted our plans to leverage it earlier. This transition obviously did not go as seamlessly as anticipated, so we're now concluding a complex development phase."

Vincke stated that *Divinity* will be a turn-based RPG that can be played alone or in cooperative multiplayer. It is also a standalone title, even though after the events of previous games. Longtime fans will recognize some returning characters, but experience with the older games will not be required. The aim is to create a "believable world where fantastic things happen because of the choices you make."

Giving Players the Reins

That final concept is key. When questioned what Larian believes is the most important aspect to perfect in *Divinity*, Vincke gave a single-word answer: agency. Larian's vision is to craft a more complex RPG featuring compelling "video game systems." This focus on player-driven narrative was a defining feature of *Baldur's Gate 3*'s success, and the studio says it is pushing that philosophy more aggressively here.

"A central part of our design pillar is 'forge your own path.' So the freedom we want to provide you is the riskiest part," Vincke explained. "We are implementing systems in there that will make you say, 'Really? It continues? But all I did was one small action!' We won't spoil these possibilities themselves. When we, during testing discovered we could link these elements, it brought me immense satisfaction. It excited my inner player, and that's the feeling I want you to feel when the game launches."

Beyond the deepened focus on player agency, the creation of *Baldur's Gate 3* has been instrumental to *Divinity*'s evolution. The studio specifically highlights that it gained extensive knowledge in writing and crafting cutscenes from that project, which will be a key focus of the new game.

A Collaborative Development Philosophy

The team also analyzed the struggles they encountered during the creation of *Baldur's Gate 3*. Vincke observes that introducing new players could be tricky in that game due to diverse class rules. To make *Divinity* more accessible from the start, Larian decided to "define our own rulesets so we could make it more video game friendly."

"One clear instance was reactions in *Baldur's Gate 3*," Vincke said. "At first, we didn't want to include them. During early access, the community really, really wanted them. We were concerned it would hinder the gameplay. So we put them in and discovered, well, it's truly better. They had a point! It was a great moment because it undeniably made the game better."

With this in mind, Larian's community will be pivotal to *Divinity*'s development. Vincke stated that the studio will keep using fan feedback