Baldur’s Gate 3’s success taught Hasbro the wrong lesson

Baldur’s Gate 3 was a massive hit for Hasbro, but that has taught the gaming giant the wrong lesson, as numerous D&D video game adaptations are being greenlit in short order.

It’s safe to say that Baldur’s Gate 3 was the biggest game of 2023, which is no small boast, considering how packed with high-quality releases last year was. The faceless Tav was up against Alan Wake, Link, Mario, and Spider-Man, and they still came out on top.

It’s easy to see why Baldur’s Gate 3 won so many people over. There’s really nothing like it in this generation. Few titles offer this level of depth in storytelling, especially in a game that lets you change the direction of the narrative in countless ways.

Naturally, Hasbro has noticed the incredible success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and wants to repeat it with other games. We’re already seeing the results of this line of thinking, but it might not play out how Hasbro hopes.

The D&D license is being shopped out

Wizards of the Coast

Since the launch of Baldur’s Gate 3, Hasbro has been licensing out the D&D universe for video games at a fast rate. Over the past few months, Starbreeze Entertainment has announced a D&D co-op multiplayer game to launch in 2026. This is the team behind Pay Day 3, hinting that this will be a similar experience.

The developers of Demeo are making a VR D&D game. While little is known about this title, it’s believed to be similar to Demeo, acting as a VR version of the tabletop RPG.

Most recently, Disney Dreamlight Valley developers Gameloft have announced that they’re making a survival life simulation D&D game. This is confirmed to take place in the Forgotten Realms, so we might see crossovers with the Baldur’s Gate cast. Maybe you’ll get to harvest turnips in Durlag’s Tower with Astarion?

Baldur’s Gate 3 wasn’t a hit because it was D&D

Larian Studios

Here’s the thing, though: Baldur’s Gate 3 wasn’t a hit because it was D&D.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was a hit because it has an incredible story, engaging characters, tons of customization options, and countless ways for the story to play out.

The developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 were given stewardship over a beloved fantasy franchise, and they weren’t afraid to take risks. Larian Studios promoted a D&D game with the infamous Druid bear Wild Shape scene, which takes serious cajones.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game that wears its age rating proudly, which is something that instantly limits the number of people who can purchase it, but the developers went with it anyway.

Larian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3 spent years in development and experienced numerous delays to ensure that the final product was as satisfying as possible. Work is still ongoing on the game, and improvements have been made to the bugs and glitches that existed at launch.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is special, and that specialness doesn’t come from it being D&D.

Now, the fact that it is a D&D game certainly helped it, as did the Baldur’s Gate name. Those are huge boons that any video game studio would kill to have attached to a title, but they’re not what makes a game great.

This lesson was taught decades ago, as the first two Baldur’s Gate games are all-time classics, and their spin-offs ranged between mediocre and terrible. The name alone couldn’t save them, as they had nothing to do with the original story.

Baldur’s Gate 3

It’s easy to understand why Hasbro wants more Baldur’s Gate 3s in the world. The game was an unprecedented hit that entered the cultural zeitgeist, even outside of gamers and D&D fans.

But throwing out the D&D license to any company willing to make a game doesn’t guarantee more success stories.

I hope that all of these D&D games in development are amazing. As a huge fan of the franchise, I want to see it do well and for more people to enjoy the tabletop RPG in the way that I do.

But licensing out D&D en masse isn’t the best way to go about that, especially in varied genres. D&D Disney Dreamlight Valley doesn’t sound like a fitting mix, though I’d love to be proven wrong (I want my turnips with Astarion.)

D&D didn’t make Baldur’s Gate 3—Larian Studios did, and if Hasbro wants more success stories in that vein, it needs the teams and the time to do so because D&D’s name isn’t enough to carry a game.