As shocking as the reveal of Larian Studios’ Divinity was for many players, fans included, it also spurred many questions. It isn’t Divinity: Original Sin 3 – does that mean the studio is moving on from turn-based combat? When will it launch? Studio founder and CEO Swen Vincke spoke to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier and confirmed that it will once again feature turn-based combat.
The company is once again planning an early access launch, but the chances of releasing in 2026 are “unlikely.” Though further details, including the story, remain hush-hush, it’s clearly aiming higher than Baldur’s Gate 3.
“This is going to be us unleashed, I think. It’s a turn-based RPG featuring everything you’ve seen from us in the past, but it’s brought to the next level.”
The studio initially worked on a new project with Wizards of the Coast, but despite having “all of the ingredients for a really cool game” conceptually, the “hearts of the developers” weren’t in it. It moved to Divinity last year, and while Vincke considers Baldur’s Gate 3 to be “a good game and I’m proud of it, I think this one is going to be way better.”
One reason for this is that, unlike with Dungeons and Dragons, Larian doesn’t have to translate those systems into another format. “Here, we’re making a system that’s made for a video game. It’s much easier to understand.”
If all this wasn’t enough, Divinity is on a new engine, and while there have been growing pains, the goal is to cut down on development time. “I think three to four years is much healthier than six years,” he said. You can still expect the storytelling seen in Baldur’s Gate 3, which Larian is “doubling down” on, along with improvements to its streaming systems. Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.