According to Wccftech, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has confirmed that the next Divinity game will be a turn-based RPG aiming to surpass Baldur’s Gate 3 in less than six years. Following the game’s announcement at The Game Awards 2025, Vincke clarified the studio’s use of AI in development after initial backlash. In an IGN interview, he stated the biggest change will be a massive focus on enhanced worldbuilding for the Rivellon setting. Vincke admitted that earlier Divinity games were made with “little thought for universe-building,” and that only with Baldur’s Gate 3 did they fully grasp its importance. The goal is to create a “tidy,” properly realized universe to build future stories upon, which is why the game is simply titled “Divinity.”
Fixing the Foundation
This is a huge admission, and honestly, it’s the right one. Here’s the thing: for all the brilliant mechanics and co-op shenanigans in the Divinity: Original Sin games, Rivellon always felt a bit… thin. It was a fun playground, but not a world you desperately wanted to live in or learn every corner of. Compare that to The Witcher’s Continent or, obviously, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Forgotten Realms. Those settings have weight, history, and internal logic that makes them feel alive before you even start playing.
Vincke is basically saying they’re going back to square one to lay that proper groundwork. And it’s fascinating that he directly credits the BG3 development process for this shift. Spending years deep in Dungeons & Dragons lore showed them the power of a ready-made, deeply detailed universe. Now they have to build their own from the ground up, and that’s “a lot of work.” But it’s work that will pay off for decades if they get it right.
More Than Just a Game
So, what does “enhanced worldbuilding” actually mean? Vincke hints at it with those small, almost mundane questions: What do people do when they eat or sleep? It’s about creating a world that exists beyond the player’s quest log. But I think they need to think even bigger. A strong setting isn’t just built in-game.
To truly compete with the big fantasy IPs, Larian should seriously consider transmedia. A few well-written novels, some compelling graphic novels—these are the things that build fan attachment to factions and characters outside of a 100-hour playthrough. It makes the world feel larger than the game. An in-game codex is a great start, but the real depth comes when the lore escapes the executable file.
The Race Against Time
And this all circles back to the most audacious part of their plan: doing this bigger, better game in *less* than six years. That’s wild. Baldur’s Gate 3’s development was famously long and tortuous, partly because they were adapting an existing, dense universe. Now they’re proposing to *create* a universe of similar depth and richness, and then build a massive RPG on top of it, in a shorter timeframe.
Can it be done? I’m skeptical, but if any studio has earned the benefit of the doubt, it’s Larian. They’ve proven they can deliver quality. But worldbuilding is a different beast than game mechanics. It’s a slow, meticulous process. Rushing it could leave us with a beautifully rendered but ultimately hollow world. The ambition is thrilling, but the timeline seems like their biggest enemy.
