Fargo seems happy that it’s in Larian’s hands, though.
Baldur’s Gate 3, the follow-up to two of the most beloved (and arguably best) CRPGs of all-time, was finally announced this month. It is being created by Divinity: Original Sin developer Larian Studios, but it turns out that other prominent RPG developers tried to get their hands on it years ago.
“I love that title,” inXile CEO Brian Fargo told IGN. “You know, both me and [Obsidian CEO] Feargus [Urquhart] were chasing that for years. [Larian CEO] Swen [Vincke] too. All of us, for a decade.”
The longtime Interplay developer continued: “After I left Interplay, it was the first thing I went for. I got very, very close at one point. I had the financing all lined up and then Atari got into trouble…”
Fargo, whose studio was bought by Microsoft last year and is currently in production on Wasteland 3, further elaborated on the pursuit of the license along with fellow new Microsoft acquisition Obsidian (who is currently nearing the finish line on the incredibly promising RPG, The Outer Worlds): “Feargus had a better inside track than I did and he wasn’t able to do it. And then Larian ended up doing it, which was a great choice by the way. It was a great choice. [But] we all tried for it.”
Asked what his version of Baldur’s Gate 3 would’ve looked like, Fargo said, “We put some thought into the plot design, I remember. It’s been over 15 years. All I remember is the [player character] was being persecuted. Everything was going bad and they were blaming the protagonist and you had to clear your name.”
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
