Summary
The massive success ofBaldur’s Gate 3has catapulted the CRPG genre back into the spotlight and given players access to one of the bestDungeons and Dragonsgames in decades. Unfortunately forBaldur’s Gate 3fans, developer Larian Studios has cut ties with Hasbro and will be moving on from the franchise going forward. This blow to the franchise means belovedBaldur’s Gate 3characters will be in the hands ofD&DIP holder Wizards of the Coast, who will need to tread carefully if they plan to utilize the game’s companions in future pieces of media.
Baldur’s Gate 3has a cast full of complex and sympathetic characters that have captured the hearts of fans with their stories throughout the course of the game. At the top of the list ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s best characters are the game’s companions, who’ve earned their own place in gaming history as some of the most notable gaming icons of recent years. Companions such asAstarion and Shadowhearthave developed dedicated fans who may be eager to see these characters show up in futureD&Dgames, putting enough pressure on Wizards of the Coast to potentially cause them to avoid using these characters again.
Wizards of the Coast Can’t Risk Altering Fan-Favorite Characters from Baldur’s Gate 3
Doing right by beloved characters can be a tough task, especially when working with characters established by a different development team. With Larian no longer working with Hasbro and theBaldur’s Gatefranchise, whichever developerWizards of the Coast taps to makeBaldur’s Gate 4will have the colossal task of following up the masterpiece that isBaldur’s Gate 3. Trying to incorporate fan-favorite companions fromBaldur’s Gate 3while matching the same quality of writing of Larian would only make developingBaldur’s Gate 4even more challenging.
To make matters worse, Wizards of the Coast could run into the tricky situation of upsetting fans ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s companions by taking their characters in an unpopular direction in future media. In this case, it may be easier for Wizards of the Coast to abandon these characters altogether rather than walk on eggshells when using them in otherD&Dcontent. While it may be disappointing for fans ofBaldur’s Gate 3to potentially never see these beloved characters used again, it might be for the best givenWizards of the Coast’s controversial track recordamong fans, and it would be better to let these characters stand than risk tarnishing their identities.
If Wizards of the Coast does intend to build on the popularity ofBaldur’s Gate 3and utilize its most popular characters in future content, there are some ways the company could carefully incorporate them so as not to risk upsetting fans. While many fans enjoyed seeingclassicBaldur’s Gatecharacters like Jaheira and Minscreturn inBaldur’s Gate 3, future games should limit past companions to cameos to avoid taking their characters in the wrong direction. For example, an NPC inBaldur’s Gate 4could speak of a Tiefling with an Infernal Engine for a heart who once escaped Zariel’s army as a small reference to Karlach.
In otherD&Dmedia, Wizards of the Coast would be wise only to use the likenesses of these companions rather than attempt to feature them prominently in any major stories. For example, the use of theBaldur’s Gate 3companionsas cards inMagic: The Gatheringis a nice way to include these characters inD&Dmedia that doesn’t run the risk of altering their characterization. The company should attempt to find more ways to give these characters small nods rather than prominent roles if they are intent on using them for futureD&Dcontent, as doing so is less likely to change their character development in a way that might be controversial among fans.
