Baldur's Gate 3, developed by Larian Studios, is arguably the biggest video game of the decade (until GTA 6 rolls around later this year). It's a product of passion for the Dungeons & Dragons mythos, allowing players to chart their own adventures with branching choices and consequences, explore a changing world with handcrafted quests, magical items, and romancable party members, choose whether to be good or evil, and shape the turbulent history of Faerûn. It won the most awards and game of the year at The Game Awards in 2023, as well as game of the year at the Golden Joystick Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, the D.I.C.E Awards, and the BAFTAs. Larian Studios has enjoyed prestigious recognition, but also a receptive community that now heralds Baldur's Gate 3 as the pinnacle Dungeons & Dragons simulation experience. They've also more or less fallen in love with the beloved characters Larian created.
So it strikes me as a surprise that on February 5th, HBO announced they're moving forward with a television adaptation of Baldur's Gate. Why should this be surprising? Hollywood never throws in the towel when it comes to video game adaptations. Sometimes we get something charming like the Sonic trilogy, something impressive like Fallout, or mind-blowingly beautiful like Arcane. Of course, you have disappointments like Silent Hill. What the successful projects have in common is that they either reinvent the story or reveal an untold story that takes place somewhere within the established universe of its source material. So, which direction is HBO's Baldur's Gate heading?
According to Deadline, the TV series will continue where Baldur's Gate 3 ended. And if you know anything about roleplay games, it means that, out of the numerous complex endings resulting from players' choices, one must be chosen as the "canon" ending. This wouldn't be necessary if the TV series decided to tell a story of an obscure group of characters, like what Cyberpunk Edgerunners did, avoiding a canon ending. This, coupled with the legacy Larian Studios left behind as the highest bar of expectations from fans and critics, makes adapting Baldur's Gate 3 a monumental task.
It makes sense that Craig Mazin is set to lead the show's campaign. Baldur's Gate will be different from a straightforward video story like The Last of Us, for which Mazin is the showrunner. However, Mazin has expressed that he's a diehard fan of the game. Mazin told Deadline, "After putting nearly 1000 hours into the incredible world ofBaldur’s Gate 3, it is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of the Coast created." Additionally, Chris Perkins, former Head of Story from Wizards of the Coast, owners of D&D, will act as a guide for the lore.
It's already been confirmed by Larian Studios themselves that they have no involvement with the HBO project. This may worry fans, since the writers at Larian spent about a decade creating the characters and contributing lore to Baldur's Gate 3. Without their knowledge and experience, tonal consistency could be a challenge. The Fallout television series was fortunate enough to have Todd Howard to inspect things. Per Dexerto, Larian Publishing Director, Michael Douse, expressed minor annoyance with the announcement saying, "I've spent the last 8-10 years of my life with the writers and creators of Baldur's Gate 3. They're the most incredible storytellers and creators in the space. Only hope is that they get both the credit deserved, and the characters are represented at the same level as the game."
It will be interesting to see how the aftermath of Baldur's Gate 3 will be interpreted by Craig Mazin at HBO. As an RPG, it's an irreplaceable experience, and I have some memorable choices that wouldn't hit as hard coming from a scripted show. The biggest question is what the canon ending will look like, and how the companion characters will be affected. Will Karlach be alive or slaying demons in Arvernus? Will Gale be a normal, quippy wizard or ascend to godhood? He became a god in my first playthrough. I'm only slightly regretful.
No target release date for HBO's Baldur's Gate series is known at this time, but we'll be on the lookout for updates.