LogInSwen Vincke says he doesn't want to risk creative freedom.
The founder and head of development at Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, revealed in a recent interview whether he had considered the possibility of selling the company. Vincke acknowledged that his studio was among those mentioned by Microsoft in their documents on "potential acquisitions." The manager said that no purchase offers were made, and the developer wouldn't have accepted them anyway.
Vincke thinks such interest from major companies is undoubtedly flattering, but he has no plans to leave the industry. The main thing for the studio head is that selling the company would always mean the risk of losing creative freedom, as investors would demand financial results.
"I’m getting older, but I’m certainly not done yet," Vincke said. "A new owner might pressure Larian to maximize profit while curtailing its creative choices. The strength of this company is that I’m very invested in the gameplay, and I also make the ultimate decisions."
The studio now has around 450 people compared to 140 employees in 2017. Vincke notes the growth was a necessary step, as the studio didn't know exactly how much effort would be required until they started working on the Dungeons & Dragons game. For example, cinematic scenes and dialogues required a separate lighting team and a QA team.
"It’s like making a movie — or many movies at the same time," Vincke said. "We didn’t expect we’d need a lighting team, or a cinematics QA team, or such a large audio team."
You can find the full interview here. Previously, the composer of Baldur's Gate 3 posted the full soundtrack of the game on YouTube. Please be cautious as some track titles may contain spoilers. You can find the soundtrack here.
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