RPG video game continues to slay all competition and rivals…
The video game market continues to expand ever outwards with more sophisticated gameplay, higher resolution graphics (rivaling even feature film visual effects in some instances), and higher-profile releases that gain wide coverage in mainstream media outlets.
The Video Game Explosion
No longer simply a niche interest for nerds and geeks, the video game industry has become a business colossus, with 3.2 billion people – some 41% of the world’s population, no less – regularly playing video games, generating a staggering $347 billion worldwide in sales for 2022 alone, with many top titles outgrossing even major Hollywood movies!
There are upwards of 50,000 video games available to play – whether mobile downloads, streaming, or physical copies – and the covid pandemic saw the number of people playing these games regularly rise exponentially, especially during the periods of lockdown.
Bigger, Better, Baldur
And undoubtedly one of – if not the – most anticipated game of 2023 is Baldur’s Gate 3. The latest installment of the long-running video game franchise that was first introduced back in 1998, and which is itself a direct spin-off from the perennially popular Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The original sequel to the original game, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, hit shelves in September 2000 and a third installment was expected to follow soon after in 2002 or 2003.
A prospective third installment was close to completion in 2003 but ultimately canceled when publisher Interplay lost the rights to any D&D games for the PC platform and also because of an ongoing legal dispute – and subsequent lawsuit – between Interplay and publisher Snowblind over rights. As a result of delays because of these legal issues, the rights to Baldur’s Gate reverted back to Atari, the original owner of the D&D video game franchise rights.
In 2014, another publisher, Larian Studios, approached the Baldur’s Gate rights holders about developing a third installment, and following a successful design concept presentation in 2017, active development began.
Out of the Gate
After 6 intensive years, Baldur’s Gate 3 finally saw release for Windows, macOS, and Playstation 5 in September this year, with the Xbox X and Series S versions hitting the shelves on December 7.
From the outset, Baldur’s Gate 3 received the kind of near-universal acclaim and admiration that games publishers can only dream of, garnering rave reviews and highest marks across the board, with PC Gamer calling it “the new pinnacle of gaming” while IGN praised it as a “masterpiece that sets a new bar in RPG gaming.”
Those reviews translated into active gameplay with 537,000 players on release day and a whopping 875,000 after a fortnight on release, in addition to 2.5 million copies sold, far exceeding even the most optimistic pre-release predictions.
The Future’s Bright for Baldur
It’s no surprise then that the game has also been sweeping the boards at video game award ceremonies, culminating in its virtual clean sweep of (almost) all categories it was nominated for at the prestigious annual Games Awards in Los Angeles on December 7, wherein it picked up trophies for Game of the Year, Best Community Support, Best Role Playing Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Player’s Voice, and Best Performance.
With the Christmas season all but imminent, it’s certain that Baldur’s Gate 3 will be a much sought-after item for Santa to deliver this year… and Larian Studios will be laughing all the way to the bank!
