GamesLarian CEO and founder Swen Vincke thinks he’s cracked the first act of his next game, but ‘it’s not what you think and this is not an teaser for an announcement’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

GamesLarian CEO and founder Swen Vincke thinks he’s cracked the first act of his next game, but ‘it’s not what you think and this is not an teaser for an announcement’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Swen Vincke in a full suit of armour, holding up a potion to the light.

Swen Vincke, the CEO and founder of Larian Studio (developer ofBaldur’s Gate 3) hastaken to Twitterto share some progress on his next game—namely, he thinks he’s got a solid draft going.

“Been a great morning! After 4 months of rewriting and rewriting and abandoning ideas and then revisiting them, I finally figured out what Act 1 on this thing I’ve been working on needs to be,” in case you’re completely uninitiated to Larian’s style of game, they tend to be split into acts. For example, Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 starts after the Nautiloid crash and ends when you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Surprising no-one, this suggests that Larian’s working on another CRPG and not a first-person rhythm shooter or roguelike cooking/dating sim (although I’d certainly like to see them try the latter. Grillin’ with Astarion? You can have that one for free, Swen).

Vincke seems pretty confident that this first draft has legs. “Quote me when it’s revealed to see how much of today’s draft survives. I suspect a lot,” still—even if he does scrap the whole thing,he writesthat “work done on abandoned drafts is never wasted, even if you think the drafts are shit. More than often, you’ll find you can recycle your work once you find the right story for it.”

He then goeson to note: “This type of work can be really frustrating when you’re stuck but the important bit is to never give up and remain self-critical, even if the situation looks hopeless.”

It’s a nice window into the creative philosophy that made ourGame of the Year—and not surprising, giventhe studio nearly went bankrupt before Divinity: Original Sin. Vincke is pretty much an industry expert at bouncing back, even if he’s got some doubts:

(Image credit: @LarAtLarian on Twitter/X.)

A post that reads: “At least that’s what I tell myself when I feel like a failure after people have been nagging at me for months - where’s the fucking narrative Swen?"

“It may be they all think it’s bad and then I’ll just kill this thread, go sit in a corner with my dog and pretend none of this happened … But I think I really like this one,” Vinckewrites, beforeinsisting: “It’s not what you think and this is not a teaser for an announcement …  It’ll be quite some time before we talk about this.”

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Still—even if we’re still a long way off from any kind of concrete announcement for Baldur’s Gate 4, Divinity: Original Sin 3, or some secret third thing (like aStar Wars game, perhaps?) It’s neat to glimpse at the man behind the industry-shaking curtain. It’s also a solid reminder that making stuff is hard, and self-doubt hits everyone the same, even if you’vewon a kajillion awards.

PRODUCTSBaldur’s Gate 3Divinity: Original Sin 2

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