Larian confirms major BG3 Karlach post-launch ending was created for the fans, but Starfield made it miss release day 

While Larian Studios has largely left Baldur’s Gate 3 behind to focus on its two upcoming games, the studio still has a great degree of love for its brilliant CRPG and, of course, the game’s fans. 

Larian first released BG3 as an early access title with years of fan feedback helping to forge the final version of the game. As it turns out, major story additions for the game were added as a direct response to fan feedback during development. 

Larian changed BG3 for the fans 

In a post on Twitter, Larian Studios director of publishing Michael ‘Cromwell’ Douse explained that the final ending for the companion Karlach was specifically altered due to fan feedback. 

In the current version of the game, Karlach returns to Avernus with their friends to fight through the hordes of Hell. However, this was added after fans wanted a happier ending for the character. 

“Just clarifying that Karlach’s final ending was indeed in response to fan feedback, with conversations starting around August 2023,” Douse explained in a post on Twitter. “Karlach’s writer cares deeply about the character and her fans.”

Of course, a new ending for Karlach wouldn’t feel right without their actor voicing it. In an interview with PCGamer, Karlach actress Samantha Beart explained that “the fans had no influence” on the actor returning to voice new lines, saying: “That was on the table as soon as it was out.”

Unfortunately, Karlach’s final ending was added in a patch after launch as Larian moved to an earlier release to escape the wrath of Starfield. While Bethesda’s sci-fi adventure wasn’t as big as many expected – although it was still massive on release – the studio didn’t want to risk being buried under the game. 

“We released a month early because we always aim for a blue-ocean release,” Douse said, explaining why minor parts of BG3 weren’t quite ready on launch. However, shortly after, Beart was back in the booth finishing up their lines for the character. 

“Pretty much as soon as it was out, I got a call—people were still in the character creator when I got the call to come back in and do an additional ending for it, let’s put it that way,” Karlach’s actress. explained. “ And then it took about a month to implement it, if I set the clock correctly.”

“It looks like, from the outside, that people had a big influence over it,” they continued. “But no, it was very much planned, I’m afraid.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most successful CRPG of all time, and it’s inspiring others in the genre like Owlcat as well as the development of CDPR’s upcoming RPG The Witcher 4. While Larian may no longer be working on the game outside of approving mods and minor hotfixes, they’ve earned the trust of fans everywhere.