Perhaps a considerable part of the audience of Baldur's Gate 3 learned about the game before its release thanks to that very scene with the druid Halsin. Recently, screenwriter Baudelaire Welch explained how Larian Studios came up with this episode.
According to her, initially a romance with the druid Halsin was not even implied in the game. However, many gamers, having played early access, began to publish fan art about this character. Larian Studios noticed such community interest in the hero, and the scriptwriters began to think about how to realize the possibility of a romance with him. As a result, the idea of transforming Halsin into a bear was born, which was drawn from the creativity of the players.
It was originally meant to be a gag that took place off screen in another scene that I pitched, because I didn't think that it would ever go anywhere, but then Swen [Vincke] and John [Corcoran] were like, «Oh, let's bring this idea forward and let's escalate it and make it a main thing for this character».
The result was a funny cut-scene, which significantly increased the audience's attention to Baldur's Gate 3, and even served as an object for jokes from other studios. By the way, Baudelaire Welch herself was hired by Larian Studios also thanks to her fan art, which she published after the game's early access release.
Let us remind you that recently players discovered in Baldur's Gate 3 a hidden opportunity to strengthen their character before the boss battle.