Wizards of the Coast Already Courting Multiple Studios to Develop Next Baldur's Gate | Push Square

Revolutionary RPG Baldur's Gate 3 was the surpise hit of 2023; a confluence of contributing factors that led to Larian's creating a once-in-a-generation level experience. But Larian has left the building, moving onwards and upwards, and ultimate IP holder Hasbro has already made a $1 billion bet on internal game development.

After almost seven years at the studio, Alex Barnes, director of PSVR2 spinoff Horizon: Call of the Mountain, has been made redundant by Liverpoool-based developer Firesprite. In March, a report from Eurogamer alleged that a toxic work culture had been allowed to develop at the PlayStation first-party developer.

Last week, we brought word of confusion among the ranks of eager Fallout fans trying to dive into the native PS5 port of Fallout 4, all fired up from watching Amazon's excellent adaptation. Those with access to either PS Plus Extra or Premium can now upgrade for free, with a small patch being released over the weekend.

Fans, all fired up from watching Amazon's excellent adaptation, are returning to Fallout games in droves, with the free PS5 update for Fallout 4 looking particularly appealing. However, with the update in the wild, players who picked up the underrated Fallout 4 via PS Plus Extra find they cannot download it and are instead being prompted to pay for the game.

Following the collapse of a «verbal agreement» reportedly worth $2 billion with the Saudi-funded Savvy Games, Embracer Group entered into a brutal nine-month restructuring programme that resulted in the loss of some 1,400 employees and the cancellation of dozens of unannounced games. CEO Lars Wingefors, whose actions were recently defended by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch («give Lars a break»), in a new interview, says: «As a leader and an owner, sometimes you need to take the blame.»

Baldur's Gate 3's extremely tempting PS5 physical Deluxe Edition was revealed in September and almost immediately sold out, with the expansive RPG launching first as a digital-only title. Demand convinced developer Larian Studios otherwise; the first round of orders is due to leave warehouses by the end of April. Keep this next part on the down-low, but Baldur's Gate 3's PS5 Deluxe Edition is actually back in stock over at Larian's merch store right now.

Baldur's Gate 3 fans who still haven't gotten their fill of everybody's favourite vampiric sadist, Astarion, can now look forward to an all-new adventure alongside Neil Newbon. The actor portrays the ultimate evil antagonist, Vecna, in a one-shot tabletop adventure, putting in an appropriately imposing vocal performance as one of the setting's big-bads.

Two years after debuting in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it seems a Hollywood leading man of sufficient talent has finally been found to portray the edgy Shadow the Hedgehog. Keanu Reeves, who needs no introduction but will get one anyway, is the star of film franchises like The Matrix and John Wick, and, of course, Cyberpunk 2077, has been confirmed to play the part.

The immortal SEGA brawler Golden Axe is being resurrected as a comedic animated series, of all things. Ordered by Comedy Central and produced by CBS Studios in collaboration with Sony Pictures, the series will undoubtedly feature buxom men and women battling dragons and various beasts, and presumably, hilarity will ensue.

In a game of exceedingly well-written characters like Baldur's Gate 3, the sadistic and sexually suggestive vampire spawn Astarion manages to stand out. But despite developer Larian Studios clearly signalling that it is moving on from the game and away from the series, Astarion actor Neil Newbon isn't quite ready to follow suit.

Since unveiling the eye-watering $130 Ultimate Edition of Star Wars Outlaws last week, Ubisoft has been under fire from fans furious a full-priced single-player game would even warrant a Season Pass in the first place. Worse, acquiring the Season Pass is the only way to «play the exclusive Jabba's Gambit mission at launch».

Just as they received the Game of the Year prize at the GDC Awards in San Francisco, the developers of Baldur's Gate 3 announced through Larian CEO Swen Vincke that they wouldn't continue to make a sequel or even DLCs for the acclaimed cRPG.