Darker, Bigger, and More Open Than Baldur's Gate 3 — New Details Revealed for the Next Divinity

Fresh details have emerged about the newly announced Divinity, Larian Studios’ next major RPG following Baldur's Gate 3. The studio is already setting expectations sky-high, calling the project “the next step” for everything they’ve built so far.

Larian boss Swen Vincke emphasizes that the new game is designed to be even more cinematic, deeper, and offer greater freedom of choice than ever before, with player decisions carrying even more weight than in Baldur’s Gate 3.

One thing that’s reassured fans: Divinity will remain a turn-based RPG. Larian isn’t shifting to action but instead is evolving its signature combat system. The game is built on an entirely new RPG system and original rules — it’s not a mechanical clone of Divinity: Original Sin 2 or Baldur’s Gate 3, but a fresh reimagining of everything Larian has learned, aiming to create a fundamentally new “tabletop” experience. Vincke describes Divinity as “Larian without limits,” hinting that the lack of a Dungeons & Dragons license gives the studio far more room to experiment.

Tonally, Divinity is set to be the darkest game in Larian’s history, though the studio’s trademark humor and self-awareness won’t be lost. Vincke teases a “dark, more mature story,” but stresses that Larian isn’t making the game relentlessly grimdark — contrast between heavy drama and moments of levity remains key, just as fans loved in Divinity and Baldur’s Gate 3.

For this new project, Larian has overhauled its in-house engine. Motion capture and animation pipelines have been streamlined, and teams now have more tools for rapid prototyping and testing ideas. This should not only boost visual quality and cinematic direction, but also reduce wasted development cycles.

There’s a notable focus on AI: Larian is using it in the early stages for brainstorming and concept generation, but everything that ends up in the final game — text, art, content — will be created by people. Vincke is clear that the studio isn’t replacing writers or artists, seeing AI as a tool for idea generation, not a production crutch.

The financial success of Baldur’s Gate 3 (with over 20 million copies sold) and a partnership with Tencent have given Larian a comfortable safety net, which is having a big impact on the studio’s atmosphere. Vincke admits that, for the first time, he doesn’t feel any pressure: the studio isn’t chasing a quick release, isn’t listening to investor “advice,” and can focus on making Divinity their dream game — even if it takes an extra year.

Vincke also shared his disappointment about the announcement leak — the Divinity surprise was spoiled just a day before The Game Awards 2025, and even Sony and Microsoft hadn’t been informed about the project. Still, he says “it’s not the end of the world,” and the player reaction to the official trailer only strengthened the team’s confidence that they’re on the right track.

As with previous Larian games, Divinity will first launch in Early Access — the studio once again plans to build balance and content in close dialogue with the community. The timeline is realistic: Vincke is talking about a 3–4 year development cycle, meaning a full release shouldn’t be expected before 2027–2028, even if Early Access arrives sooner.

You can check out all the major announcements from The Game Awards 2025 here.