If you've been holding out hope for a proper follow-up to Baldur's Gate 3, here's a take from someone who actually knows how these things get made. Mark Darrah, the original Baldur's Gate programmer turned Dragon Age producer at BioWare, has a clear vision for what Baldur's Gate 4 should be. The problem is it requires something Larian almost certainly won't hand over.
The expansion idea that makes a lot of sense
In a recent interview, Darrah laid out his preferred path forward for the franchise: build Baldur's Gate 4 as what he calls "an oversized expansion pack for Baldur's Gate 3." The key to making that work, he says, is getting Larian to license out its proprietary Divinity Engine 4.0, the same tech that powers BG3's entire experience.
Here's the thing: on paper, this is actually a sensible idea. BG3 already has the systems, the combat framework, the D&D ruleset integration, and years of player familiarity baked in. Building on that foundation rather than starting from scratch would save an enormous amount of development time and reduce the risk of producing something that feels completely disconnected from what players loved.
The problem is that Larian has made its position on the franchise unmistakably clear. Swen Vincke, Larian's CEO, said definitively back in 2024: "We're not going to make new expansions which everybody is expecting. We're not going to make Baldur's Gate 4 which everybody is expecting us to do. We're going to move on." That hasn't changed. Larian has since confirmed it is not involved in any Baldur's Gate 3 projects, and the studio is clearly focused on whatever comes next under the Divinity banner.
Why the Divinity Engine 4.0 is such a sticking point
Larian's history with engine access is worth understanding here. When the studio built the original Divinity Engine for Divinity: Original Sin back in 2014, it released a modding toolkit to the public and even published tutorials for creators who wanted to build with it. That openness helped grow a real modding community around those games.
Divinity Engine 4.0 is a different story entirely. Larian has kept it locked down, with no public toolkit and no indication that outside access is coming. Plenty of BG3 fans have been vocal about wanting that to change, but the studio hasn't budged. Handing it to a third-party developer to build a sequel on top of it would be a far bigger ask than releasing a modding toolkit.
Darrah acknowledges this reality. He also floated the idea of bringing in a studio like Owlcat Games (known for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Rogue Trader) as a potential developer, but even he admitted that whoever steps in "does not have many, many, many, many years building this kind of RPG." That's a significant gap to close when you're following up one of the most technically accomplished RPGs ever made.
What Hasbro is actually doing
This conversation doesn't exist in a vacuum. Wizards of the Coast boss Cynthia Williams has publicly stated that Baldur's Gate 4 is absolutely going to happen. Hasbro has already explored bringing in veteran talent, including former BioWare lead James Ohlen, who worked on the original Baldur's Gate 2. Ohlen's reaction to the prospect was telling: he was initially horrified, wondered briefly whether Larian's engine could be licensed, then concluded he wouldn't know what to do with it anyway. He put it plainly: "Swen's always going to be the master of building those kinds of things."
That's a remarkable thing for a veteran RPG developer to say about another studio's tools. It speaks to just how deeply the Divinity Engine 4.0 is tied to Larian's specific expertise.
Darrah's other option for Hasbro is more dramatic: build something genuinely different, accept the community backlash that comes with a sharp departure, and push the franchise somewhere new. He described it as putting on "asbestos pantsuits" before lighting the fuse. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement.
What this means for players right now is that BG3 remains the definitive version of this franchise for the foreseeable future. If you're still working through it, check out our in-depth review for a full breakdown of what makes it special, or dive into the Baldur's Gate 3 strategy guides to get the most out of your current playthrough while the sequel question stays unresolved.
