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Larian Studios Baldur’s Gate 3 is an absolutely amazing game, and it’s not exactly cheap. While it’s not an egregious $80 release like some upcoming Xbox and Nintendo releases, the brilliant CRPG has a solid price-point that has barely shifted since launch.
Following the recent Microsoft layoffs and reports that Xbox Game Pass may not actually be profitable, Larian head of publishing Michael Douse explains that that gamers don’t just want to play a bunch of games for free. Instead, the publisher argues that players just want games that are good.
“I think one of the fundemental misunderstandings is the idea that players want ‘free games’,” Douse explained. “They want good games. They can be free-to-play, they can be paid, bu they need to be good.”
Douse speaks from experience. Baldur’s Gate 3 was (and still is) one of the highest-rated games of all time, and it’s still selling despite only minor discounts since launch. Additionally, one of the best-selling games of the year is Sandfall Interactive’s Expedition 33, is another title that has sold gangbusters just because it’s good.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 developer explained that the games industry is not a space where you can just flood a trend or a market. Just because your game is free, that doesn’t mean it’s worth playing. Hilariously, looter-shooter The First Descendant found itself without a hook, haemorrhaging over 90% of its launch fans before it found its stride by playing up to its thirsty crowd.
“You can’t avoid that this is a hit-based industry,” the director of publishing explained. “The problem is there isn’t enough mindspace for the amount of games that would ideally be hits. Therefore, the majority can’t be hits, even if they’re good.”
Seemingly focusing on the Game Pass trend, Douse explained that the answer to the industry isn’t buying “a bunch of developers and churn content” but to instead “have an audience and hyper-focus on your niche”, like Nintendo and cutesy family-friendly experience. Sure, you can jump outside on occasion for a bit of funsies, but even in Nintendo’s darkest moments, they’ve always kept a strong core audience.
Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t just a fantastic game, it’s an evergreen one. Unlike a live-service game, BG3 isn’t changing month-to-month. The version of Larian’s RPG we love now will also still be here ten years from now, and Larian has time to move on to develop its next two games instead of continually updating one title. And that’s exciting! That’s how it really should be.