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Larian Studios has confirmed that their next big RPG, Divinity, will use turn-based combat just like their Game of the Year-winning title Baldur's Gate 3. The devs also confirmed they plan to launch in early access, but a 2026 release appears unlikely, according to Larian CEO Swen Vincke, who spoke to Bloomberg recently.
Shorter development cycle than Baldur's Gate 3
Vincke revealed that Larian is targeting a three-to-four-year development cycle for Divinity, significantly shorter than the six years required to complete Baldur's Gate 3. "I think three to four years is much healthier than six years," Vincke said, noting that the studio plans to develop quests and storylines in parallel rather than linearly to reduce production time.
The CEO made the bold claim that Divinity will surpass its predecessor. "Baldur's Gate 3 was a good game and I'm proud of it, but I think this one is going to be way better," he said, explaining that Dungeons & Dragons' systems were difficult to translate from tabletop to digital gaming. "Here, we're making a system that's made for a video game. It's much easier to understand."
Divinity won't feature AI-generated content
Vincke confirmed that Divinity will contain no AI-generated content, with everything created by human actors and writers. While Larian uses AI tools internally for concept art and placeholder text, the final game will be entirely human-crafted. The decision has faced some internal pushback, though Vincke says most employees now accept the studio's approach to AI.
The game will feature even more narrative branching than Baldur's Gate 3, which sold over 20 million copies. "We're doing a couple of things that you haven't seen in RPGs before," Vincke said, promising that different players will have completely unique stories to share.
Larian recently switched to a new game engine for Divinity and has grown to 530 employees across seven offices globally. The success of Baldur's Gate 3 has given the studio financial stability to pursue its most ambitious project yet.
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