If there was somehow any doubt remaining about the future of Baldur's Gate 3, the RPG's lead writer has done his best to finally put those doubts to rest, saying that he's entirely moved on from the game - but that players should continue its legacy any way they like.
Speaking to Edge Magazine, Adam Smith was asked how it feels to acknowledge that the future of the series is no longer in his hands, and that in the years to come he'll be watching other people work with characters he created. In response, he said that "we did that the moment we released it."
"People started doing their own stories, and whether it's [D&D owner] Hasbro or a fan on Tumblr, they belong to other people once you put them into the world." Smith goes on to say that he's "really curious to see" what other people come up with, and while there are a few things he doesn't like - such as "a lot of spicy fan art" - it's otherwise all "fair play. If someone's enjoying it, fantastic. I don't need to love all of it."
"A big part of my heart will be in Baldur's Gate," he says, "but all of my creative focus is on other things now. And it feels fantastic. We told our story, and I think it's a really good story. Sometimes it's really powerful and good to be able to say 'that's done'. We don't need to have DLC and sequels constantly."
If you're wondering where exactly Smith's creative focus is now, it's a pretty safe bet that it's on at least one of the "two very ambitious RPGs" that Larian is now working on. Neither of those are Baldur's Gate 4, however, and neither are they expansion or DLC offerings for the game. In fact, Larian is gearing up to "fully" hand over the game's legacy with the release of Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 in September. With the future of this particular game firmly in the hands of the community, it's no surprise that Smith would be looking elsewhere.
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