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Just like Baldur's Gate 3, it will create a "constant dialogue with the players."
Image credit: Larian Studios
It took a while for Baldur's Gate 3 to leave early access, but it was worth it for the changes players received in the end based on their feedback (if you recall how hostile every companion was back in the day, you'll feel the difference especially clearly.) But what about Larian Studios' next project?
According to Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse, it will probably get the same treatment once it's done. Speaking with Game File (via Eurogamer), he said early access is "the only way to do it now" because its whole point is to "create social resonance, to create a situation where you have a constant dialogue with the players."
"Our next – whatever the next thing will be – will also probably be in early access," he added. "That way you remove a lot of the prediction, too. When you release a game in AAA, whatever method, [if] you don't have early access, you're taking a huge bet on the fact that this is good and people like it. In early access, you find out very quickly. It helps you steer the massive ship."
However, it's not as easy as it sounds. Douse thinks early access is "scary" as the developer becomes a live service company "because you've got to feed that machine." But Larian tried to keep its ground and not reveal too much. It took it slow and didn't add much content. "Setting expectations is really key," Douse believes, "It's just going to be this one sort of fractal loop that's going to sort of adapt."
At the end of the day, early access is not for everyone, so it's okay not to delve into it if you're not sure as a developer/publisher.
"If you don't know how to do early access, I wouldn't do early access, but if you are interested in creating a really strong core gameplay loop and then building around that, to foster a strong community, that's a really good way to do it. It's probably the best way to do it."
I think Larian's 3-year early access plan worked in the end, and we were given the best game of the year, even better than what we saw in 2020.
Now, the studio has moved on and is working on something that's not Baldur's Gate 4 nor D&D-connected while also updating BG3 regularly.
Douse also said that companies mass laying off employees are not at risk of going bankrupt, "They're just at risk of pissing off the shareholders."
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