Baldur’s Gate 3’s Larian Says They Wanted to Make a ‘Fallout’ Game, Now Can They?

Baldur’s Gate 3 was the big winner of the 2023 GOTY, and it was despite a year that saw incredible competition, from Alan Wake to Zelda. But now, fans are a little disgusted by the simple fact idea that developer Larian could and/or should make a new Fallout game.

This is based on a quote from Larian’s verbose CEO Swen Vincke, who talks about what they wanted to work on outside of Baldur’s Gate before getting there:

“I felt like there was a glass ceiling that we wouldn’t be able to break unless we had triple-A production values, a budget, marketing, all the triple-A stuff,” Vinke said in Edge“It could have been Ultima, it could have been Fallout, it could have been Baldur’s Gate. There wasn’t much choice.”

That was many, many years ago, of course. Larian started working on Baldur’s Gate 3 eight (!) years ago, in 2016. This was after Fallout 4 in 2015 and before Fallout 76 in 2018, where the series arguably lost its way (with a horrible launch that, yes, over the last six years has turned into a solid game with a good community).

Even though Larian is talking about an idea that was eight years ago, fans have latched onto this quote. Fallout fans have been hungry for a big Fallout game, and many don’t count 76 because they want a traditional single-player experience. Plus, that game is pretty dated technically at this point, if nothing else. But the problem is, Bethesda spent five years on Starfield and are now going to spend even more years on Elder Scrolls VI. They’ve made it clear that they will make Fallout 5, but at the current rate of things, it might not be until, what, 2030?

The fans basically want another studio to make a Fallout New Vegas, Obsidian’s mid-game that is beloved by fans. Fallout is now owned by Microsoft, as is Obsidian, so the idea is someone they could make a faster Fallout game, and if not Obsidian, another studio they own. But… what about a studio they don’t own? Could they hire Larian to make their next game a new Fallout installment?

Don’t get me wrong, I would love for that to happen and honestly, I would prefer they make a Fallout game rather than Bethesda at this point, honestly. I think Microsoft should try to get them on board.

But the reality and logistics of this are incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Larian has reportedly already started developing two more RPGs after leaving the Baldur’s franchise behind with Wizards of the Coast. And let’s say Microsoft paid them billions of dollars (or bought them, as they tend to do) and had them start a Fallout game tomorrow. How long do you think it would take Larian to make a full Fallout game when Baldur’s Gate 3 (understandably) took eight years? Well, probably 2030+, at least, and that’s… when Fallout 5 could come out.

A smaller Fallout game, similar to New Vegas, that wasn’t a mainline Larian game would be welcome. But I don’t see that happening given the reality of the situation.

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