Put simply: The overwhelming success of Baldur's Gate 3 demonstrates the strong appetite among gamers for quality products set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Hasbro, the conglomerate that owns Wizards of the Coast and the entire D&D franchise, hopes to use this appeal to significantly influence the future development of D&D-based video games.
After selling over 10 million copies and winning countless awards for Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios has decided to stop producing D&D games for the time being. It's unlikely that BG3 will receive any major DLC, expansions, or Larian-developed sequels, but this doesn't mean the story of Baldur's Gate is coming to an end. On the contrary, Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro are actively searching for a new developer to take on the task.
The huge success of Baldur's Gate 3 has led Hasbro to take more significant risks with its digital entertainment products, according to Dan Ayoub, Hasbro's head of digital product development. Ayoub confirmed in a recent interview that Hasbro is indeed developing video games in-house and has invested a “significant” $1 billion.
The company currently owns four AAA studios that develop video games. These include Atomic Arcade, which is developing a new generation of Snake Eyes GI Joe games. Invoke Studios is working on its own D&D project. Texas-based Skeleton His Key delves into, as Ayoub describes it, “something spooky.” Austin-based Archetype studio is working with BioWare veteran James Ohlen to develop an all-new series called Exodus.
Hasbro is a 100-year-old company founded on the principles of play, and now we're looking ahead to the next century, where digital games are emerging as the primary form of entertainment for many. Ayoub said that given Hasbro's rich portfolio of intellectual property, in-house game development is aimed at expanding its offerings beyond D&D, but that in-house game development is consistent with this evolution. He emphasized that there is.
The success of Baldur's Gate 3 confirms the strong demand for well-made D&D games, and the desire to maintain the same standards of quality, depth, and fidelity as the original tabletop RPG world and lore in future works. Ayub said that this shows that. At the same time, Hasbro is keen to explore new territory, as evidenced by its upcoming G.I. Joe game.
Hasbro previously ventured into game development under its Hasbro Interactive label, which was eventually sold to Infograms in 2000, but Ayoub suggested this time would be different. However, he stressed that the company is committed to allowing its development plans to mature organically, without rushing to bring anything to market prematurely.
