Summary
Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke was originally afraid thatBaldur’s Gate 3would be too short. This revelation was shared as part of a recent interview that also saw Vincke talk about some of the content that was cut fromBaldur’s Gate 3after his length concerns proved unfounded.
According to crowdsourced player data, anaverageBaldur’s Gate 3run takes just over 70 hours. At the same time, completionists wanting to unlock all of the game’s achievements will need closer to 170 hours to do so.Baldur’s Gate 3is hence one of the longest and most content-packed games of 2023.
Larian Began Cutting Content When Baldur’s Gate 3 Started Getting ‘Too Big’
Vincke, who also served as the game’s director, wasn’t always certain this would end up being the case, but was actually concerned that the RPG would be too short. He said as much in a recent interview with BAFTA, which also saw him reveal that there used to be twoMoonrise Towers inBaldur’s Gate 3. The developer later replaced one of them with tower ruins, and then eventually cut those as well. Reflecting on this move, Vincke revealed that the reason for it was purely practical, stating thatBaldur’s Gate 3was simply getting “too big” at the time.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Was Originally Planned to Have Many More Regions
“I’ve notoriously always been very bad at judging the length of our games,” Vincke remarked. His unfounded concerns about the RPG’s length are part of the reason why Larian planned a wide variety of othercontent that ended up being cut fromBaldur’s Gate 3; the game was originally meant to have many more regions and deities, a different ending for Karlach, more hags à la Auntie Ethel, and additional companions, among other things.
Evenone of the biggest villains inBaldur’s Gate 3was once recruitableat the end of Act 2. As for the locations that ended up being cut from the game, those include the Upper City, Vlaakith’s palace, the Gith Astral Plane, and Candlekeep. Not all of the cut locations were excluded from the final product due to time constraints, with Vincke previously revealing that some were left on the cutting room floor because they were too small to meaningfully reward exploration.
I’ve notoriously always been very bad at judging the length of our games.
Elsewhere during the interview, Vincke said that despite all of the accoladesBaldur’s Gate 3has amassed, he’d still consider the release ofDivinity: Original Sinto be the biggest highlight of his career. This is largely because the 2014 RPG was Larian’s first major hit, which enabled the company to start tackling more ambitious projects that it always wanted to do.
Baldur’s Gate 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCEChoose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPICForged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian’s next-generation RPG engine.
