Following its monumental success with Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios has officially unveiled its next major project: a new game in the Divinity series. In a bold statement, CEO Swen Vincke claims the upcoming title will be "way better" than its award-winning predecessor, while also targeting a significantly faster development timeline. This announcement clarifies widespread speculation and outlines the studio's ambitious technological and creative goals for its future.
Development Timeline & Strategy
- Target Development Cycle: 3-4 years (compared to 6 years for Baldur's Gate 3).
- Early Access Window: Unlikely in 2026, probable in 2027.
- Anticipated Full Release: 2028-2029.
- Team Size: 530 employees across 7 global offices.
- AI Tool Usage: For internal placeholder text, concept art, and presentations. No AI content in the final game.
- New Technology: A new game engine focused on improved streaming performance.
Larian Confirms Divinity as a Turn-Based RPG, Dismissing Action Genre Rumors
The nature of Larian's next project has been a topic of intense speculation since its mysterious teaser at The Game Awards 2025. Initial clues, including a European trademark and a real-life statue placed in the Mojave Desert, pointed towards a new Divinity title. However, the studio's silence on gameplay mechanics led to rumors that it might be venturing into the action RPG genre. Swen Vincke has now definitively put those rumors to rest. In an interview, he confirmed that the new Divinity will remain a turn-based roleplaying game, continuing the core gameplay tradition established by Divinity: Original Sin, its sequel, and Baldur's Gate 3. Vincke described the project as the studio "unleashed," building upon everything learned from past successes but aiming for a substantial leap forward in quality and innovation.
Gameplay & Narrative Details
- Genre: Turn-based Roleplaying Game (RPG).
- Setting: New entry in the Divinity series (not a direct "Original Sin 3").
- Core Promise: Builds on Larian's past games but brought to "the next level."
- Key Innovation: Game systems designed natively for video games, aiming for better understanding and new RPG mechanics "you haven't seen before."
- Narrative Goal: To create vastly different player stories, emphasizing deep branching and player agency.
CEO Vincke Targets Ambitious Quality Leap with a Healthier Development Pace
Swen Vincke's confidence in the new Divinity is unmistakable. He openly stated that while he is proud of Baldur's Gate 3, he believes the new game will be "way better." This ambition stems from designing systems specifically for a video game from the ground up, rather than adapting the complex rules of Dungeons & Dragons. Vincke argues this will make the game "much easier to understand" while allowing for unprecedented narrative depth. He promises that players and journalists will have "completely different stories" to share, hinting at branching narratives and player agency that could exceed even the high bar set by Baldur's Gate 3. Despite this increased scope, Larian is actively working to avoid another six-year development cycle. Vincke stated that a three to four-year cycle is "much healthier," indicating a major shift in the studio's production strategy to balance ambition with sustainability.
Early Access Planned for 2027, Supported by AI Tools and a New Engine
Larian Studios plans to follow the successful early access model pioneered by Baldur's Gate 3 for the new Divinity. However, Vincke indicated that this public testing phase is unlikely to begin in 2026, pointing towards a probable early access launch in 2027. A full release could then follow in 2028 or 2029. To achieve its accelerated timeline, the studio is employing several strategies. Internally, Larian is making significant use of generative AI tools for tasks such as creating placeholder text, rapidly iterating on concept art, and fleshing out internal presentations. Vincke was careful to clarify that no AI-generated content will appear in the final game, with all writing and acting performed by humans. More fundamentally, the studio is building a new game engine. This engine is specifically designed to improve streaming performance, aiming to solve technical challenges like those encountered in Baldur's Gate 3, where the titular city had to be segmented and still faced performance issues.
Studio Growth and Legacy Titles Receive Next-Gen Updates
Supporting this ambitious new project is a significantly expanded Larian Studios. The company now employs 530 people across seven offices in Asia, Europe, and North America. This global workforce and increased scale are key to Vincke's goal of developing complex storylines in parallel rather than linearly. Alongside future plans, Larian has not forgotten its existing catalog. The studio has also announced that Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is receiving native ports for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch 2, ensuring its acclaimed RPG remains accessible on modern platforms. This dual focus on pioneering a new future while honoring its past underscores Larian's position as a leading force in the CRPG genre, now setting its sights on raising the bar once again with Divinity.